Our Little Arrangement
by MissWikipedia
Summary: Rachel and Puck have a HUGE secret, what will happen when they tell the rest of Glee Club about it. Not your average Puckleberry story! Rachel/Puck.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee! but I wish I did =)**_

_**AN: Puck never slept with Quinn- the baby is Finn's. I suppose it very out of character but I hope you like it anyway. I don't live in America, let alone Ohio so I have taken some creative license with the details. I'm also not Jewish, so I bent the customs I know to fit the story.**_

_**Chapter One:  
**_

Lima is not a big town. But being a Jewish student in such as small town was an even bigger isolation. Sure Puck had managed fine once reaching junior high and Rachel, Well, She was going to succeed no matter what she chose to do. There was no doubt about that.

But the pair hadn't always been at William McKinley High. In fact they had both attended the same Jewish college in a nearby town. There had been 10 kids from Lima who would make the 40minute bus ride into Pilton every day for school and they were a pretty tight group. The ringleaders of the group were no other than Noah Puckerman and Rachel Berry. They were pretty much joined at the hip from the time they were toddlers. That was, up until Noah left Pilton Jewish College to move to a school closer to home. They stayed good friends but when Rachel moved to McKinley, Noah (or Puck as he was now known) had become part of the football team and had an image to uphold, something that Rachel wasn't exactly comfortable with. They had come to an agreement that they would remain friends out of school but during school they would remain in their own social circles. Unfortunately for Rachel, that often meant putting up with slushie showers that Noah would always apologize for later on.

Their friendship wasn't the only secret the pair shared either. And the second one was MUCH bigger. For many years they had avoided their 'little issue' as Noah had referred to it. But now, their time had run out, and at their parents and Noah's grandmothers request, they were going to have to face the facts sooner rather than later. It wasn't like they didn't have any say in the matter, they did, but in a town like Lima, their options were severely limited. They were Jewish and although their families hadn't always followed certain tradition, This one had been planned since before they could walk.

Puck and Rachel had a chat over the weekend to decide how they were going to handle it and both agreed that the first step would be telling their friends in Glee the whole story. Not leaving out anything. Currently that resulted in Noah pacing backwards and forwards nervously in the Choir room whilst everyone, including Mr. Shue, sat waiting. When Noah had continued the pacing in silence for another few minutes Rachel finally caved.

"Noah!" She said a little more forcefully than she would have liked, but it worked, he finally stood still. The others in Glee watched the little scene playing out before them with interest and curiosity. They knew it had to be something big if Puck was so nervous and were they imagining it or had Rachel just called Puck, _Noah_?

"Sorry," Puck said seriously his eyes locking on Rachel's, "I don't know where to start," he finished truthfully. Rachel smiled and got up to stand next to her friend. It wasn't just his responsibility to do this.

"Okay," she said addressing the Glee members and Mr. Schue, "So you all know that Puck and I came to this school from other schools, but what you don't know is that we both came from Pilton Jewish College. We have known each other since we were toddlers and have been best friends for just as long," she explained calmly.

"but you guys don't act like friends around here, let alone best friends," Quinn said rather shocked by this information, not sure whether to believe the girl standing in front of them.

Noah decided to take the lead on this one.

"Rachel came here after me, by the time she got here I was already part of the football team, it was a completely different atmosphere from PJC. Rachel didn't want to be involved in that scene and I didn't want to give it up so we came up with a compromise," Puck explained to his friends.

"Getting slushied on a daily basis is one hell of a compromise. Why are you telling us this now?" Finn asked curiously, "I mean what's changed?"

Rachel and Noah shared a look.

"Believe it or not that's not our only secret," Rachel informed them pausing for a second, "This one is big."

"We're Jewish, and whilst our families may not be very traditional anymore, there are certain parts of our culture we are supposed to uphold," Puck sighed looking over at Rachel, she gave him an encouraging smile. "My grandmother is very ill, she probably won't be around next year, she is traditional and wants to see me follow in the same traditions she did," He continued beating around the bush. He could see the others getting confused but didn't have the guts to say what needed to be said. Rachel once again saved the day.

"We have an arranged marriage," She said quickly before she too lost the nerve to say it. Hoping the quick and straight to the point method would calm their nerves. The pair watched as jaws dropped around the room.

"It's been planned since we were toddlers, it wasn't set to happen until after we had left high school but…" Puck started to explain, "With my Gran being ill and both our parents' permission, it will all be finalized soon."

"We need you to understand that this isn't something that is completely forced upon us, although it is planned for us, we both have the option of saying no to a potential match, however, Lima is not a big place and the Jewish community within it is even smaller," Rachel said trying to explain how it all worked to the stunned mob in front of her. This time Noah came to her rescue.

"What Rachel is trying to say is that, we have talked about this… a lot, and finally decided we are going to go ahead with this, we know it's going to be really really hard, but we do not have too many options that will keep both our families happy," he explained, "if we say no, we could do a lot worse."

The group sat in silence for a while. Puck and Rachel were starting to fidget as they got more and more nervous, when Mr. Schue finally spoke up.

"I can't say I'm not completely shocked, but I am also very proud of the two of you," he began, "It can't have been an easy decision to make, congratulations guys!"

There were murmurs of congratulations coming from all over the room as their friends shock started to slip away.

Kurt was the first to walk up to the pair, he held out his hand for Puck to shake, "Congratulations," he said sincerely before pulling Rachel into a hug, "now let me see your engagement ring!" He said excitedly. Rachel chuckled and pulled her necklace out from inside her shirt. Her simple white gold ring was hanging off it. Noah had taken her to a jeweler to buy it on the weekend. He had insisted that if they were going to do this, she needed something to prove it. He was going to be broke for a while.

All the girls gasped and came up for a closer look.

"It's stunning!" Tina said smiling up at Rachel, all the girls agreed.

Mr. Shue clapped his hands together, "well, I can see we aren't going to get any work done today, so let's call practice to a close until tomorrow."

"Ah one thing guys," Rachel said before anyone left the room, "we would really appreciate if you kept this to yourselves for a while."

Everyone nodded their agreement before the girls went back to admiring Rachel's ring.

Puck could see Rachel being bombarded with questions. He walked over and picked up his and Rachel's bags, "Come on Rach, let's go home," He said flashing her a smile.

Rachel looked at Noah and then back at the girls before saying, "I'll answer your questions at lunch tomorrow, we have to go see Noah's grandmother tonight." The pair quickly left the room and climbed into Noah's truck.

_**There you have it, the first chapter of 'Our little Arrangement'. I have written quite a few chapters ahead of this story so I hope you like it! I have sucky internet connection out where I am but I will try to update asap.**_

_**Reviews would be magical!**_

_**Elle xox**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: Yay! Chapter 2! I was totally overwhelmed by the alerts (76 so far!), reviews and messages I got about this story. I did not expect it to be as popular as it has been because of how out of character it is in parts. I am glad people are enjoying it, it means I didn't write it for nothing =)**_

_**Thank you to; zzzooe, Rachel Lily Gleek Potter, seacat03, KatAngel16, Twilight Gleek, TawnyC, LJ515, keakulina6, SciFigal63, Randomcallalily, ajak716… all of whom took the time to review. I try to reply to reviews but if I forgot you, I am sorry, it was not my intention.**_

_**Elle xoxo**_

_**Chapter 2:**_

The ride to Rachel's house was silent. Both had been stunned by their friend's reactions but were relieved that they no longer needed to hide their friendship when they were at Glee. Noah had been coming to Rachel's house, or vice versa, at least three times a week since they were 3, sometimes more.

Rachel broke the silence as the car pulled up outside her house.

"Do you want to wait while I get ready or should I meet you at your place and we can go from there," she asked politely.

Looking into her driveway he could see her dad's car parked in the garage.

"I'll come in," he said, "I haven't seen your dad in a couple of weeks."

They walked up the familiar drive and let themselves in the front door.

"Hi daddy!" Rachel called as she opened the door, "We're home."

Her daddy, Paul, came down the stairs to greet them.

"Hi sweetheart," He said giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, "Noah! How lovely to see you again, that's one fine ring you brought my daughter," he said with a nudge causing Noah to blush. "We are so proud of the two of you, We know we haven't exactly been the best role models when it comes to our Jewish customs."

"We told our friends at school today," Puck stated. He had known Rachel's dads for as long as he had known Rachel. He had always found both men easy to approach and it was nice to have another male to talk too. He stood up to help himself to a glass of water.

"How did they take it," Paul asked curiously.

"Surprisingly well," Puck responded with a small smile, "I mean, they were shocked but they all congratulated us. We will just have to wait and see. We are going to go see Savta and talk to her tonight."

"How is your grandmother?"

"She is in the hospital now, the doctors say there isn't much they can do except make her comfortable," Puck spoke honestly. Rachel had come downstairs in time to hear the end of their conversation. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a bubblegum colored top. Casual but classy- this was the Rachel that Noah knew well. She put her hand on Noah's back showing her support.

"We should go so you can get changed before the hospital visiting hours are over," she says quietly.

* * *

Rachel was just as comfortable at the Puckerman's house as Noah was at hers. She was rummaging through the kitchen cupboards now looking for something for them to eat. Finding a half eaten packet of Oreos she grinned. Her favourite and she happened to know that Noah had a weakness for them as well.

She was just about to pop one into her mouth when the front door opened and Noah's mom and eight year old sister walked in. Noah's mom, Rebekah, was trying to listen intently to Zia's recap of her day at school as she balanced a few bags of groceries in her arms. Rachel rushed to help her just as a carton of milk threatened to fall.

"Thank you Rachel," She said with a smile, placing a kiss on the girls forehead, "I didn't know you were coming over today."

"I'm just waiting for Noah to finish getting ready," Rachel explained as she offered the packet of Oreos to Rebekah and Zia, "We are going to visit Savta this afternoon."

"Oh good, She was asking about you both yesterday," Rebekah nodded her understanding taking a cookie, "I thought I would let you two tell her about your decision."

The three ate their cookies in a comfortable silence. Noah came downstairs dressed in his good clothes. He always liked to look his best when he went to visit his grandmother. He watched as Rachel lifted an Oreo to her mouth and timed his attack perfectly, stealing the cookie and putting swiftly in his mouth before she could complain.

"Ima, your home early, I was going to pick up Zia after we left the hospital," Noah addressed his mother, his mouth full of half eaten cookie.

"I had some time owing so I thought you might like to take Rachel out today, but I see you were thinking that too," She said with a smile, "After you have been to the hospital, have some time to yourselves, I'll stay home with Zia."

Noah smiled brightly over at his mother. He didn't mind helping out to look after his sister, but it was nice to be able to go out for a change.

His mother watched with a smirk as her son grabbed Rachel's arm and started pulling her towards the door.

"Are you going to be home for dinner?" She asked the pair.

"No, we'll pick something up when are finished at the hospital." He responded still pulling a struggling Rachel out the door. When she finally broke free she rushed back inside and silently grabbed the packet of Oreos, earning her squeals from the two inside.

She climbed into Noah's truck and offered him an Oreo with a smirk.

"Ah a girl after my own heart!" He said with a laugh putting the truck into gear and backing out of the drive.

Their visit with Puck's grandmother went well. Hannah was very pleased to hear that her grandson and Rachel were going to follow through with her wishes. The pair listened intently to the stories she shared with them about her own arranged marriage. She had met her husband only days before their wedding and they had been married for nearly fifty years before he passed away. But she was very honest with the teenagers.

"It's not all going to be easy, your young but you have an advantage," she began, "you have known each other since you were toddlers. You don't have that many secrets from each other," she explained. Hannah went on to re-tell the story of how the pair first met.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Young mother, Rebekah Puckerman was carrying her 2 year old son, Noah, on her hip as she helped her mother out of the car at the synagogue. Her husband was not Jewish and rarely showed any interest in her faith. This was the first time she had come to the synagogue since her son was born. Noah was struggling in her arms asking to be put down. Giving in she put the boy down at her feet._

_He was an adventurous toddler and within seconds he was running off across the car park. Rebekah watched in horror as her son was about to run straight across the road before a set of strong hands grabbed the boy by the arms._

_Rebekah ran up to the man who had stopped her son._

"_Thank you, I only took my eyes off him for a second while I was helping my mother out of the car," she explained._

"_Don't worry about it, My husband and I have a daughter about the same age," he indicated to a tall man with a toddler in his arms across the car park, "they can be a handful."_

"_Thank you again," Rebekah said sincerely, "… I'm Rebekah Puckerman, and this is my son, Noah."_

"_Paul," The man said, shaking the hand she was holding out. He could see they were new, "Come and meet my husband and daughter. You and your family can sit with us today."_

_She carried Noah back to the car where Hannah was waiting and lead them back over to her new friends, waiting outside the building. _

"_Rebekah, this is my husband, Isaac and our daughter Rachel," Paul said making the introductions on his side._

"_This is my mother, Hannah, and Noah," She replied with a smile. The adults put the children down on the ground and watched as they stared at each other curiously before running off to play like they were old friends. _

_After the service, their parents came to collect the children from the corner they had been playing._

"_Say goodbye to Rachel, you will see her next week," Rebekah said to her son._

"_Bye Wachel," the young boy said giving a toddler hug to his new friend._

_And so tradition started, each week they would meet outside, the kids would play then the two families would head out for a meal. As the kids got older the play dates were more frequent and when they were of school age, their parents had enrolled them at the same school._

_**END OF FLASHBACK**_

Rachel and Noah smiled over at Hannah and said their goodbyes, promising to come back to visit in a few days.

* * *

Noah drove them to their favourite café in a comfortable silence. They walked in and claimed their usual booth in the back corner. The waitress handed them menus and walked of to get there drinks. They did not need to open the menus, knowing what they wanted from their many previous trips.

Noah was being uncharacteristically quiet and was avoiding her eye contact. This did not go unnoticed by Rachel.

"Stretch?" she asked referring to Noah's childhood nickname, "what's wrong?"

"I, um," he began, obviously nervous about something so Rachel smiled over at him, "I was just thinking you could move that ring to your finger now that everyone in Glee knows… I mean, if you want too. I don't think anyone else will notice."

Rachel beamed over at him before she stood up and moved around to sit next to him. She turned so her back was facing him and held up her hair.

"Can you undo my necklace?" She asked quietly. Noah gently undid the clasp, slid the ring off the small chain and re-fastened the necklace around Rachel's neck. He held the ring carefully in his hand and looked down at it.

Rachel could see that her friend, her fiancé, was still worried about something. She gave him a questioning look, silently asking him to explain.

"Ahh, I was wondering whether I should put this on your finger, you know… do it properly," he explained, "is that stupid?"

"Not at all," Rachel responded with a bright smile as she held her left hand out. When they had come to an agreement about the situation, Noah had dragged Rachel out of the house and straight to a jewelry store.

_**FLASHBACK**_

"_You don't need to do this Noah," she told him, "I don't need a ring."_

"_If we are going to do this, we are going to do it right," he had argued, "plus, we are going to need proof when we tell everyone at school!" Marching into the store, he explained the situation to the salesman and asked if he had any suggestions._

_The salesman seemed to understand his budget and found several rings he would be able to pay of in the near future. He looked over them quickly before pointing out the simple white gold ring with a diamond in it. _

"_What about this one?" he turned to Rachel._

"_Perfect," she beamed at him. The salesman helped Rachel try it on for size. He was pleased to hear it wouldn't need to be altered and they would be able to take it home today._

_**END OF FLASHBACK**_

Noah slid the ring on carefully and kissed her forehead gently. When he and Rachel had been 10 they had a pretend wedding in the school yard. He had even given her a ring out of a cereal box. He was both proud of the fact he was able to buy her a real ring now and embarrassed by the force he had used in insisting Rachel needed a ring as proof of their engagement.

The waitress came with their meals and Rachel moved back to the other side of the booth. Conversation was easy between the pair as they spoke about their old friends and their new friends at McKinley.

"I saw Jamie at the batting cages the other day." Noah began, "He wants us all to catch up for the long weekend fireworks celebrations next weekend. I was thinking, we could invite the rest of Glee club."

Rachel nodded her agreement.

"You realize we are going to be bombarded with questions tomorrow," Rachel asked, "How are we going to deal with it?"

"Ha! That's an understatement!" Noah chuckled, "but I was thinking that you could handle the girls and I would handle the boys. What do you think?"

"That sounds like a plan," she said stealing fries off Noah's plate earning herself a slap to the back of her hand, "Can you pick me up in the morning?" she asked, "that way we can face the initial rush together."

"Yup, now let's get you home before your dad's think we ran off and got married!"

* * *

_**Whew! That's the longest chapter I have ever posted! Ill try to update ASAP. It looks like Sundays will be my day to update.**_

_**Reviews would be spectacular!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: Still don't own Glee. I'm hoping to find it in my Christmas stocking this year! **_

_**AN: Thanks to; TawnyC, Twilight Gleek, emo nemo96, RosalieTheBeautyQueen, keakulina6, zzzooe, coastiewife465, GleekLaughingXDPuckleberry and Rachel Lily Gleek Potter; all took the time to review, some of them for the second time.**_

_**There are parts of this chapter that I love and other parts I am disappointed with how they turned out, still… let me know what you think of it!**_

_**Elle xox**_

_**Chapter 3:**_

Rachel and Noah walked quickly to their separate lockers when they got to school in the morning. Puck had squeezed her hand and whispered 'good luck' in her ear when he saw the small crowd of Glee kids already huddled around her locker. He expected his locker would look much the same.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel continued on to her locker. As expected, she was hit with a tonne of questions. Ignoring them all she got her books out of her locker and turned to face the group.

"Guys! Stop! I promised I would answer your questions at lunch, and I will, but please," she begged, "wait until lunch time. I just want to have a couple more hours of normalcy. Noah will talk to the boys at lunch and I will talk to the girls." She slammed her locker shut and stormed off in typical 'Berry' fashion.

A few halls over, Puck was experiencing the same issues and he too brushed the group off, telling them to wait until lunch time.

Rachel walked to first period maths early and got herself set up. Tina was soon to follow, sitting down next to Rachel with a look. Rachel was just about to remind her to wait until lunch when Tina spoke up.

"So, Artie and I were at the cinema on the weekend and you'll never guess who we saw going to see the latest Toy Story movie all on her own!" She said excitedly, "Miss Sylvester!"

Rachel gave her an appreciative smile before joining in with the gossip. She was glad she had a majority of her classes with Tina. She was able to keep Rachel distracted until lunch when the pair walked arm in arm to the cafeteria to find Noah waiting outside for her. Giving Tina a quick smile, he joined the girls to walk into the crowded room. He was quickly called over to the table to boys had claimed and Tina pulled Rachel over to the girls and Kurt's table.

The whole gang was there waiting as patiently as they could but still looking like they were about to burst. Rachel took a bite out of her apple, dragging the suspension out for as long as she could.

"Okay, so what do you want to know?" she asked after swallowing. The table suddenly became a blur of noisy girls.

"Whoa! Slow down!" She said with a smile.

Quinn, the always organized teen, was the one to suggest that she just start at the beginning and that they could stop her if they had a question.

"Alright then. Well, Noah and I met when we were two. Not that either of us remember that. Our parents are friends from temple. It was Noah's grandmother's request that we have an arranged marriage. We have grown up knowing about it, although I will admit that we haven't really spoken about it until a few months ago." She explained to the group.

"I thought arranged marriages weren't practiced nowadays," Mercedes asked.

"There not really unless you are orthodox, but some families still stick to the practice of picking a potential partner for their child. Like I said yesterday, we have been given plenty of opportunities to say no but we have spoken about it and agreed to give this a go," Rachel continued, "We would do anything for Noah's grandmother. It will make her so happy to see us give this a go and if it doesn't work out, then at least we can say we gave it our best shot."

Rachel idly played with the ring on her left hand while the others watched her. She was sick of being judged. There were a few minutes of silence before Santana spoke up. Rachel braced herself for the bitchiness that would follow.

"If I were in your situation, I can not say I would have been brave enough to do the same. That must have been an incredibly hard decision to make. Congratulations Rachel!" She said pulling the girl in for a hug. Rachel let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. Santana was Pucks ex so it meant a lot to Rachel to get her approval on the whole situation, especially since they weren't really friends but Rachel appreciated her honesty.

They spent the rest of their lunch break discussing more minor details. Rachel explained that Noah had taken her to choose a ring a few days after they had come to an agreement and how he was nervous about putting the ring on her finger. That particular story had earned an 'aw' from everyone around the table. Kurt and Mercedes wanted to know if she had chosen a dress yet. When she told them she hadn't even begun to think about that yet, the group declared that they would all be coming dress shopping with her since she didn't have a mom to do it with.

Rachel had to hold tears back at how thoughtful they were all being. She glanced over at the boys table and smiled at Noah, when he smiled back the girls all vocalized their thoughts again as Rachel stuck her tongue out at him childishly, earning a fake shocked look and a laugh.

"So is Puck really as macho as he makes himself out to be?" Brittany asked in all seriousness.

"Not really, but don't tell him I said that! He does have his moments though," she said with a giggle, "he prides himself on being that person at school, but he can be a pretty big softy outside of school."

"When are you going stop keeping this a secret?" Quinn asked, "people are going to start finding out eventually."

"We know, but it's so much easier when we don't have to worry about what everyone thinks," Rachel explained, "as I'm sure you can imagine, not everyone agrees we are doing the right thing in getting married so young and we don't exactly act like friends at school... It's going to be a big shock."

Across the room, Noah's conversation started much the same way. He was called over to the boys table as soon as they walked through the doors of the cafeteria. Sitting down, he pulled out his lunch and started eating.

"What?" he said to the group boys staring at him, knowing full well what they wanted.

"So just how long have you known Berry?" Matt asked him.

"Uh, since we were two," he answered honestly, "our parents met at temple and have been friends ever since."

He took in the expressions on everyone's faces.

"Look guys, I know Rachel better than I know anyone and she knows me just as well…" Puck explained, "this wasn't just a snap decision, we have know about it for years and when our parents asked us to do it earlier we talked it through and eventually came to the conclusion we were both willing to do it."

"Who would have thought," Artie said with a smirk, "Puck- a hitched man!" He held out his hand and bumped knuckles with Puck.

After being congratulated by the small group, Noah looked over to the girls table to see how Rachel was going. He was pleased to see her smiling and laughing along with the others. She looked over at him and they smiled at each other. Rachel playfully stuck out her tongue and he put a hand over his mouth, pretending to be shocked before laughing.

Rachel had her next class with Finn, Mike and Matt next and the trio surprised her by choosing the seats around her. She smiled when she heard Finn mutter something about protecting his best-mate's girl. They were astonishingly good company. Half way through English, she was called to Mr Schue's office. Confused, she arrived to find Noah also waiting for her.

"I just wanted to see how you two are coping after yesterday," he explained. The pair were touched by his concern. Noah had not had a real father to look up too since his dad left when he was nine. Although he had Rachel's dads it was nice to have someone to look up too.

"We are doing fine Mr Schue, although we appreciate your concern. The other kids have been really understanding, which has made this loads easier." Rachel explained.

"I am really really proud of you guys, this is a very mature thing you are doing," he said with a smile, "but I think you should consider talking to Miss Pillsbury about this as well. Having someone to talk to can make dealing with issues much easier." They knew Mr Schue was referring to the situation with Noah's grandmother.

"Thanks, I think we might do that Mr Schue. You can tell her what is going on if you like," Noah said sincerely, reaching for Rachel's hand and pulling her up. He gently kissed her cheek before they walked out smiling. Kisses to the cheek or forehead was about as far as they went. Although Rachel had recently found herself feeling open to more.

_**Not as long as my last chapter I know, but the next part really needed to be in a chapter of it's own.**_

_**Reviews would be amazing!**_

_**Thanks=)**_


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: As promised, Chapter 4 on time. Thank you to everyone who reviewed for chapter 3. I'm sorry I was unable to reply to reviews this week- I'm writing reports for my students at the moment, very tedious task. A big thank you to Keakulina who helped me ****finally**** understand the American schooling system!**

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter so please let me know what you think (particularly if you liked it!).  
**

**Elle xox**

**Chapter Four:**

Rachel didn't see Noah again until Glee after school.

She walked into the choir room to find it half full. She put her bag on the seat next to Noah and sat herself down in his lap. As Glee started after school today, the other students had left and they no longer needed to hide. His arms instinctively wove themselves around her waist as she leaned back against him.

"How did you go today?" he asked her, well aware that they were being watched by everyone in the room.

"It was fine, apparently I'm going dress shopping with the Kurt and the girls," she stated happily.

"Oh yay! That sounds fun… not!" Noah laughed sarcastically at her causing her to rub his head forcefully.

"Yeah, well you know your mom is going to make you wear a suit," she said with a sly look on her face as she jumped off his lap, "how about I ask Kurt to come help you pick it out?" She teased, "I bet you would look great in pink!"

Seeing the look she had being hoping for cross over his face, Rachel turned to face the rest of the Glee club who quickly pretended they had not being watching them.

"Kurt…!" was all she managed to get out before Noah's hand was quickly shoved in front of her mouth. She continued to talk underneath his hand but the words were too muttered to be heard.

"Watch it Berry," he said quietly with a laugh, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her off the ground as he pulled her back towards his chair. Both of them were laughing loudly.

The Glee clubbers watched the pair with interest. They had never seen Puck play around like this with anyone else and they had never seen Rachel act so… normal.

Rehearsals went rather quickly. Mr Schue was having a hard time getting anyone to concentrate as they were intently watching Puck and Rachel. He had to admit it was rather crazy, before today he had never seen the two talk to each other and now it was clear to see they knew each other very well. At one point he was certain Rachel and Puck were the only people in the room who were actually singing.

Santana, Quinn and Brittany huddled up to discuss their plan and when rehearsals were over they quickly grabbed Rachel by the hand.

"You're coming with us to the mall," Santana said.

"I can't! Noah drove me to school today," she replied looking over at the boy in question.

"Babe, relax, I'm sure Santana will drop you back at your place when you're finished. Go have some fun!" he said pushing her towards the others when he got a nod from Santana. He knew Rachel was not exactly friends with the cheerleaders but he also knew that they would no longer do anything to hurt her. He was sure, once the girls got to know Rachel outside of school, they would see she is not as bad as they always thought she was.

"Okay, if you're sure that's okay Santana," Rachel replied hesitantly. She was not used to having the cheerleader be so nice to her and still had a bit of a worry that this was some kind of practical joke.

She didn't need to worry. When the group got in the car, the cheerleaders and Quinn explained their plan.

"We saw how concerned you were yesterday about what people will think when they found out about your secret," Brittany started to explain.

"We know we haven't been friendly towards you, and there is no excuse for our behavior," Santana began to explain, "so, if it's alright with you, we would like to start making it up to you… starting by helping you pick out a new outfit for when Puck… I mean, Noah, takes you out next," the Latina said with a sincere smile.

"A fresh look, so that when this all comes out, it won't be a complete surprise," Quinn added.

Rachel looked at the three girls and took in the looks on their faces. Her face broke out in a broad grin and she wrapped her arms around the girls as best she could in the car.

"Thank you! You don't understand how much this means to me!" She said happily. Rachel dressed differently outside of school, more fashionable, but she was the first to admit that it would be nice to get some fashion advice from the girls.

The group spent the next few hours dragging Rachel from store to store picking out different outfits for her to try on. She came away with a new pair of jeans, more form fitting than anything she would buy by herself but Quinn insisted they looked fabulous on her. Santana found cute little pink top, and a white jacket which Rachel also agreed she would wear often. Brittany helped Rachel pick out some new jewelry she would be able to wear with lots of outfits.

As Rachel was paying for the last item, Santana came back over.

"Do you have plans for dinner tonight?" she asked, "Quinn and I were thinking it would be nice to stay and eat in the food court… if you have plans ill drop you home though." Santana didn't want the teen to feel pressured by their sudden interest.

"Dinner sounds good, but I should tell my dads I won't be home," she said pulling her phone and calling them. They were pleased their daughter was making new friends and reminded her to be home at a reasonable time.

Rachel had to admit she was having fun with the girls. Whilst they were sitting down eating their food, Rachel was telling stories about her and Noah as kids. She had just finished telling them about the time Noah had wanted to help his mother out and did so by picking all the green tomatoes off her prized plants, when her phone rang.

Checking the caller ID she answered.

"Hi Noah," she said with a grin.

"_Hey, your dads said you're still out with the girls, I'm just checking in to make sure everything is okay,"_ came his husky voice. He knew she was far from friends with the girls and he knew Santana had an evil streak if things weren't going her way, but she meant well.

"Yeah everything is great, we just decided to stay for dinner," Rachel said with a smile.

"_Good, I'm glad you're having fun with the girls, I'll see you tomorrow,"_ he said.

"Can you pick me up in the morning?" Rachel asked taking a swig of her soda.

"_Sure thing babe, See you later."_

Rachel closed her phone and looked up to see the girls looking at her and burst out laughing. It didn't take long for the others to join in.

"You know Rachel, You're not so bad to be around when you're relaxed like this," Quinn said linking arms with the girl to leave to mall.

"Noah says he likes the relaxed me better too. I wasn't always as crazy as I act at school but McKinley is so different from our old school. There it always felt like it was okay to be ourselves. McKinley is so divided. That's why I love Glee club so much," Rachel explained getting nods from all three of the girls.

Santana pulled into Rachel's driveway and the group said their goodbyes promising to eat lunch together tomorrow. As Rachel walked up the drive Quinn rolled the window down and called out to her.

"Wear your new outfit tomorrow Rach!"

* * *

Noah pulled up outside Rachel's house at 7.15 the next morning. He used his key to let himself in and found Rachel's dads, Paul and Isaac, sitting around the breakfast table. They murmured their greetings pointing to the pot of coffee on the table. Puck poured himself a cup and sat waiting for Rachel. He didn't have to wait long.

Rachel came down stairs in her new outfit as Quinn had suggested. She had spent a little extra time on her hair today as well. She had it neatly pushed back and fastened with a clip to keep it off her face. Noah was speechless. It had been a long time since he had seen Rachel so confident and relaxed and he was pretty sure that Quinn and the girls had something to do with it.

"Morning Noah," Rachel greeted rubbing his head affectionately.

"Morning squirt," He stuttered back, his brain automatically calling her by her old nickname, "I like this new look!"

"Are you sure it looks okay?" she asked, "I'm a little worried it's to over-the-top for school but the girls seem to think it's suitable."

"You look beautiful sweetie," her daddy said looking up from his paper.

"I have to agree with Noah," her dad replied, "it definitely suits you."

Rachel beamed at the compliments and made a mental note to thank Brittany, Quinn and Santana at school. She had really enjoyed their company the night before and had a new found confidence about going to school at McKinley- confidence she hadn't completely had since leaving Pilton.

After fixing herself and Noah some toast, Rachel finished getting ready for school and the pair left. They parted ways at the car park as they usually did when Puck drove them to school. Walking down the familiar halls, Rachel could feel many eyes on her.

"Oh My God!" Kurt screeched as he locked eyes with the girl, "Rachel Berry is wearing normal clothes. I never thought this day would come… spin, let me see the whole outfit."

Rachel complied with a smirk on her face.

"Ill have you know I normally dress in normal clothes as you so crassly worded it, although, I will admit to Quinn, Brittany and Santana's help with this particular outfit," she told the boy.

"It looks fabulous Rachel," he responded earnestly, "you should wear jeans more often, you definitely have the body for it!"

The compliments didn't stop at Kurt. As she walked the halls between classes, she got a number of whistles and was even asked out by a few of the boys on the football team. Rachel smiled shyly but politely turned them down. All except one that is. She was on her way to fourth period with Mercedes and Santana when they were cornered by a tall Mohawk wearing boy. Rachel smiled brightly.

"So Berry, you gonna come to the game tonight?" he asked. Rachel had not been to many of Noah's football games since she moved to McKinley and was overjoyed by his invitation.

"Yup, and I was going to ask the other Glee Clubbers if they wanted to come with me," Rachel explained. Mercedes looked like she was about to burst. The girl hated to admit it, but she enjoyed it, going to the games, and it would be great to have some company.

Noah smiled and leaned in, "See ya later, squirt," he responded just loud enough for them to hear before turning to Santana, "good job with the new clothes, Thanks!"

* * *

At lunch, Rachel sat down at a table with Kurt, Artie, Tina and Mercedes. They were making arrangements for the nights football game when the remaining glee club members pulled a table up to theirs, making one long table. Puck sat down next to Rachel. Looking around the room, Rachel saw all pairs of eyes looking at their, now really long, table. She looked over at the cheerleaders for an explanation.

"We figured since you and Noah can't sit together without causing a scene around here, if we moved the table over here, you guys could sit together and people will think it's just a Glee thing," Matt explained for the group.

Rachel looked at them and smiled, "thanks guys."

The group settled into comfortable conversation with Noah constantly trying to steal food off her plate. After eating the group moved outside and walked across the oval to sit by a tree. It was far enough away from the rest of the school that they could talk about 'the wedding.'

"So when _is_ the wedding?" Artie asked curiously.

"Umm, we don't know yet but it will have to be soon," Puck replied a hint of sadness in his voice as he referred to his grandmother not being well.

"Yeah, we will probably take a couple of days off next week to get some things sorted," Rachel added, "there is so much to organize and we haven't even started."

Rachel made herself comfortable on Noah's lap as he leaned up against the tree. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head gently.

"Actually, I was hoping some of you girls, and Kurt, might still be interested in coming dress shopping this weekend," Rachel asked, "We are not going to have a huge wedding but I would still like something nice to wear. I know its short notice but if you're interested..."

All of the girls agreed they would love to come dress shopping. Brittany and Mercedes even suggested a couple of places where they could look.

"We should come here more often," Finn suggested, "it's nice to get away from everyone."

The all agreed.

"It can be our Glee tree!" Mike said making everyone laugh.

* * *

****PLEASE READ***  
I need some help coming up with some Jewish names for Rachel and Puck's friends from PJC. Now I could look up a heap of names and use those, but that wouldn't be any fun. So instead I decided to put it too you guys. Suggest a name and your reason why in your reviews and I will randomly pick (from a hat) the winner who's name will be used in the story and will get to pre-read chapter 5 (dedicated to them) before it's posted!  
**

**Reviews would be superb! =)**


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: Congratulations to 'zzzooe' whose name 'Leah' won the name competition from last chapter. The name wont appear for a couple of chapters yet but she has received her prize! =D I was overwhelmed by the names suggested and am hoping to include some more of them over the remainder of the story. I particularly liked the names Eve, Naomi, Elijah, Chaya, Levi, Gabby and Jeremy- Here's to hoping I find a place for some or all of them!**_

_**As promised, this chapter is dedicated to Zzzooe. Hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Chapter Five:**_

Rachel rode with Noah to the football game that evening. It was clear she had spent time deciding what to wear. Choosing a casual look, she wore jeans and a warm jacket. Noah had wanted to give her his letterman jacket to wear, however, as they had not informed anyone outside of glee about their relationship, that would have to wait. As Noah ran off to join the team, she was there early, but was pleased to see Quinn sitting in the grandstand. The girls chatted comfortably as other began to arrive.

When the footballers ran onto the field, Quinn watched Rachel's smile grow. Puck smiled and waved up at the girls.

"You really love him, don't you?" Quinn asked seriously, seeing the look confusion, panic and then finally relief pass over her friends face. Rachel dipped her head.

"It didn't start that way," she admitted quietly, "I mean, I've always loved him like you love your best friend but…"

Quinn urged the girl to keep talking.

"Over the last few years, my feelings for him have been much stronger… it's very confusing," Rachel said bravely, "I know Noah loves me, but I don't know if he loves me that way," she said with a whisper.

Quinn nodded her understanding. It was clear to her that Noah loved her but she could see how it would be confusing with everything going on in their lives at the moment.

"You need to ask him Rachel," she responded, "for your own piece of mind."

"I know, but I can never find the right opportunity to bring it up," Rachel admitted. Quinn pulled her in for a hug and after a moments silence they laughed at the irony. Who would have believed that only weeks ago, these two had been enemies and now, Rachel was talking about her relationship with Noah to the girl.

It wasn't long before the other glee clubbers arrived with fries to go around. They had a good time cheering on the boys and laughing at their opposing team. After the game, they met the other cheerios by the boy's locker room door and cheered loudly as the boys came out. The group piled into their cars and met at the Breadstick for a celebratory dinner. After eating way too much food, they said their goodbyes, the girls and Kurt promising to pick Rachel up to go dress shopping in the morning.

Noah drove Rachel home in comfortable silence. As he pulled up outside Rachel's house, she gathered her things lent over and kissed his cheek.

"I really enjoyed coming to watch you play tonight Noah," she said with a genuine smile.

"I loved having you there," he responded sincerely, "hopefully next time, we won't have to hide."

And with that, she climbed out the car and waved to him as she went through her front door. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, dreaming about her future husband.

Morning came quickly and the Berry households doorbell rang promptly at seven thirty. A sleepy Rachel dragged herself away from the best nights sleep she had had in a long time and answered the door to find the other five glee girls and Kurt waiting.

"You're still in your pajamas?" Kurt stared bluntly.

"It's seven thirty on the first Saturday I've had off from dancing in years… so yes, I'm still in my pajamas!" She explained, flopping down on the couch and yawning. Contrary to popular belief, Rachel was not as much of a morning person. In fact, she would quite happily sleep till lunch if she didn't need to be up.

"Give her a break you guys," Quinn defended her, "plus, this way we can help decide what she wears," she said with grin, pulling Rachel back up the stairs. Kurt couldn't help but gasp when he opened her wardrobe.

"Rachel Berry, why have you been hiding these clothes all these years?" he demanded.

"Because then nobody would take my talent seriously," she said as if it made perfect sense.

After half an hour the group emerged with a fully and fashionably dressed and prepped Rachel. Grabbing a banana for her breakfast, Rachel's Daddy handed her his credit card. With a quick thanks they were piling into Kurt's car and singing their way to the store.

The store attendants got Rachel set up in a spacious change room as her friends were sifting through racks and racks of beautiful dresses. Quinn and Santana were helping her change into each outfit whilst the groups talked through the curtain.

"Quinn told us you and her had a rather serious conversation at the football game last night," Kurt asked as Rachel walked out of the dressing room. She did a quick circle before Kurt frowned and pushed her back into the room to try on the next one. It was obviously a no.

"Uh yeah…" she said giving Quinn a murderous look, "but I haven't spoken too Noah about it yet so please don't say anything. We have a lot on our minds at the moment and just cant deal with that too," she finished as she held her arms up for Santana to lace the dress she was tying on. Again, Rachel quickly modeled the dress and looked at the others for their opinion.

"Hmm, p p put it on the m maybe pile," Tina suggested. Rachel admitted it was a nice dress but she couldn't help but think she would instinctively know when she found the right dress.

"So you and the resident Badboy, huh?" Brittany asked with a smirk.

"Noah is just… perfect, you know?" she started dreamily, "He doesn't care how I dress but appreciates it when I put extra effort into getting myself sorted, and he always knows the right thing to say."

The girls nodded their understanding but still rather shocked that it was Noah Puckerman Rachel was talking about. Rachel returned to her cubical to try on yet another gown.

"When we were freshmen, and Noah was about to move to McKinley, I was upset. He was my best friend and I was used to having him around all day," she explained, "I cried for days but Noah would send me a text message each break to make sure I was fine and would come over each afternoon to talk about our days. He always knows the right thing to say… it's comforting."

"It must have been hard when you came to McKinley," Brittany said.

"Yeah, to have your man ignore you all day would have been tough, how did you manage girl?" Mercedes asked curiously.

Rachel smirked.

"Despite what you might have seen, or not seen, Noah did not completely ignore me at school. He sent me a lot of text messages and would even help me clean up after the slushie attacks if he could… but yeah, it was hard."

"Oh My God! You're the 'Squirt' on his phone!" Santana yelled finally putting all the pieces together.

"I'm not sure what you mean by 'on his phone', but yes, Noah calls me Squirt… he has done since we were six," Rachel said.

"When Puck and I were together, I was looking through his phone," Santana explained, "and most of his messages were from someone called 'Squirt'. When I asked him who that was, he just said it was his best mate at his old school- I just assumed it was a guy… but he called you Squirt the other day. How the hell did you end up with that nickname?"

"It's not really an exciting story, he was tall, I was short and as six year olds, we apparently weren't very creative," Rachel chuckled, she knew that that was going to be the next question, "the names just kinda stuck. I call him Stretch, although not as often as I used too."

The girls continued on with their conversation. They had lots of questions to ask and surprisingly, Rachel was happy to answer. Even the shop assistants were participating in the conversation, eager to learn how their arranged marriage was going to work. She explained how she and Noah had yet to discuss bridesmaids/ groomsmen etc because they hadn't told their friends from Pilton about the wedding yet.

Three hours, two stores and over 50 dresses later she found the perfect dress. She knew before even trying it on that it was going to be perfect. It was simple, floor length and strapless. It was tight around the top and had a dark purple sash under the bust. After that it flowed to the floor softly- not overly marshmallow like. A delicate row of dark purple beading around the top finished it off. When Quinn and Santana helped her tie the dress up at the back and took a step backwards they had gasped.

"Stunning!" Quinn whispered before sticking her head out the curtain.

"Are you ready guys, coz I think this is the perfect dress!" Quinn said with a lot of excitement evident in her voice.

Rachel smiled at the looks she got from her friends as she stepped out from behind the curtain. The dress fit her perfectly and wasn't overly formal. Just perfect. This was the dress. It didn't even need major alterations. It just needed to be taken up a little at the bottom.

The shop attendants pinned the dress at the right length whilst the glee clubbers discussed what could be done with Rachel's hair, make-up and jewelry. Rachel explained the importance of having the alterations done quickly to the shop assistants who informed her there seamstress would be in soon and they would make sure she looked at her dress first. Getting changed into her normal clothes, Rachel paid the deposit for her dress and the group moved to search for the next item- Shoes!

That particular item didn't take long. She chose a simple pair of heeled shoes in a silvery color. They were comfortable and stylish at the same time. The group left the shoe store just in time to hear Brittany's stomach growl loudly. They all laughed as they realized how hungry they were. They found a little café not far and sat down after ordering. They chatted happily while they waited for their meals. They were so busy laughing they didn't see the group of cheerleaders enter.

"My My, what do we have here?" asked a tall blonde haired girl, "A freak club get together!" The cheerleaders laughed and the glee clubbers continued to stare.

"I'd watch what you say Stacy, or before you know it, ill have Jacob Ben Israel post a rather exciting article on his blog about how we saw you at the mall with bags from toy stores," Santana sneered, "Did you brake that precious Barbie doll of yours?" she asked sweetly seeing how red the offending cheerleaders face had become at the mention of her favorite childhood toy. She knew she was on the right track, after all, they had once been friends. Stacy's face grew redder as the cheerleaders surrounding her joined the Glee kids in laughter.

"Wouldn't want anyone to hear about this, would you Stacy?" Santana smirked, as the tall blonde quickly turned and stormed out of the story followed closely by her friends, "didn't think so!" Santana called after her before collapsing in a fit of giggles.

They spent the better part of an hour sitting and chatting happily at the café. They had stuffed themselves full of food and were ready to go back out and face the shops. Rachel had insisted they not look at jewelry today, making a mental note to ask Noah's mom if she would like to do that with her. They soon found themselves at a music store, browsing through the various albums and suggesting songs for Glee.

Rachel snorted in a very unladylike way when she found a CD she knew Noah had been talking about for months. She had not heard of the band but he was adamant he needed the CD to have in his car. As she was handing the lady behind the counter a couple of bills, her phone rang in her bag.

"Hello, Rachel speaking," she answered.

"_Hi Rachel, It's Dianna from Lima Bridalwear, We had our seamstress look at your dress as soon as she got here and it should be ready in about twenty minutes if you are still in the mall," _came the reply over the phone.

"Oh wow! That was quick, I wasn't expecting it for a few days at least!" Rachel squealed.

"_We had her look at it straight away and it didn't need a lot of altering," _she explained, _"Do you have time to come in and try it on in a little while?"___Dianna asked. Rachel explained they were just upstairs and would be back at the store soon.

The alterations were perfect and the dress fit like a dream. She tried it on with her new shoes just to be sure. Kurt and Mercedes snapped up some photos with their iPhones before Rachel got changed and handed the dress back to the assistants to bag up. She used her Daddy's credit card to pay off the rest of her dress and they left the mall with excitement.

"Kurt can you drop Quinn and I at Noah's house, he is at work and I want to show his mom my dress before he gets home," Rachel asked giving her friend directions to the Puckerman house.

_***** PLEASE READ *****_

_**AN: Thank you to all you lovely reviewers over the last four chapters. I love your suggestions, ideas and advice. PLEASE KEEP IT COMING. I really try to include some of the ideas given. Where do you guys see this story going? Although I have written quite a bit of it already, I am always reviewing and changing bits around.**_

_**Lets break a review record! **_

_**SEND ME YOUR THOUGHTS! =)**_

_**Coming up next… Quinn gets a surprise when she goes to the Puckerman house!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**AN: Thank you so much for the review! I love reading all of them and I do try to respond to most of them. I am sorry if I haven't had the chance to write back to yours. Keep the reviews coming- I love the advice I've been receiving. **_

_**A shorter chapter this week but I felt it was necessary to keep it separate from the next chapter. You'll get to see Rachel interact more with Puck's family and as promised, Quinn learns something that surprises her.**_

_**Elle Xoxo**_

_**Chapter Six**_

Rachel and Quinn climbed out of Kurt's car with her bags in her hands. Rachel thanked her friends profusely for helping her and got her key to Noah's house out of her bag.

"Rebekah!" Rachel called out as the pair walked in the door.

"Up here Rachel," She heard Rebekah from what sounded like Zia's room.

As they headed up stairs, Quinn took in her surroundings. She had not been in Pucks house before and looking around, it was clear that Rachel was a big part of his family's life. There were photos scattered around the place of her and Puck from various ages, had she not known Rachel and Puck were friends she wouldn't have even recognized the girl in the photos. But it was the door to Puck's bedroom that stopped her in her tracks. It was decorated with photos and in the middle someone had written in thick black permanent marker 'Noah & Rachel's room!'

"You and Puck share a room!" she squeaked.

"Only when I stay here," Rachel replied as if it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Quinn glared at her friend.

"What? Its not that big a deal," Rachel said.

"Are you kidding me! Of course it's a big deal!" Quinn screeched in reply but was interrupted when a short pretty woman popped her head out of a room. Quinn assumed that this was Puck's mother and was shocked at how young she looked.

"Who is your friend Rach?" She asked with a kind smile.

"This is Quinn, she is Finn's girlfriend and a friend from Glee," Rachel explained, "Quinn, this is Noah's mom."

Quinn smiled at the older woman. She noticed Puck's mom look quickly at her growing stomach and shifted uncomfortably. Her baby bump wasn't really noticeable yet but she assumed Rachel or Puck had told Rebekah about her situation. She relaxed when Rebekah smiled softly at her. Who was she to judge, Rebekah thought, her son was getting married at sixteen and she had had Noah at a very young age.

"We went dress and shoe shopping for the wedding today," Rachel continued, "I thought you might like to see what I got before Noah gets home."

Rebekah grinned from ear to ear before ushering the girls into her room.

"Let's use my room, there is more space."

Quinn helped her friend into the dress and Rachel stepped out of the bathroom. She could see tears in Rebekah's eyes.

"You look beautiful Rachel… just beautiful," The three girls experimented with Rachel's hair and spoke about what they could do with her make up. Rachel had insisted that she did not want to wear a veil and that she wanted to keep everything as simple as possible. She got back in her jeans and gently placed her dress back into its bag. Rebekah had agreed to let her keep it there until the wedding.

"I have spoken to your dads Rachel, and we have agreed that you and Noah can have a couple of days off school to get everything sorted," Rebekah explained, "I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off work to give you a hand, hopefully we can get it all done."

Rachel nodded, "that's probably a good idea… Do you mind if Quinn and I wait here for Noah?" she asked.

"Of course not, ill make some afternoon tea, come down when your ready," Rebekah smiled brightly, Rachel was like a daughter to her, and in a few weeks she would be.

Rachel led Quinn into her and Noah's room. Quinn immediately noticed the room had a number of Rachel's things scattered around and there was a large picture of her and Noah hung on the wall. Rachel was on Noah's back and both were laughing at something going on behind the camera.

"How do you keep this a secret," Quinn asked seriously, indicating the picture on the wall, "don't people notice all the photos of you around the place and the obvious statement on the door?" She knew Finn and Noah had been friends since they both started football when they were kids and was a little surprised that he hadn't noticed anything. Then again, this was Finn.

"Nobody comes up to Noah's room, even Finn hasn't been up here since he was in elementary school, and he didn't know me then so it wasn't an issue if he saw photos of me," Rachel explained laying down on the bed, "but your right, people are going to have to find out about this sooner or later, I'm just a little concerned about the consequences."

The girls chatted easily. Rachel told Quinn about her friends at Pilton and how they were going to catch up for the long weekend fireworks at the park. Quinn agreed it would be a good opportunity for everyone to meet in an informal setting and she promised to invite the glee clubbers on behalf of Rachel and Noah on Monday when they would be at home.

* * *

Rebekah made chocolate chip cookies and as the girls were tucking into them, the front door opened. An exhausted looking Noah came inside and flopped down on the couch with his eyes closed. Rachel took a couple of cookies and silently sat down next to him. He opened his eyes, surprised, and then noticed Quinn sitting at the table too.

"How was shopping?" he asked.

"I got a dress," Rachel said simply handing him the cookies, "your mom says we have Monday and Tuesday off from school to work on things for the wedding." Noah nodded and dragged Rachel up and over to the dinning table. He knew he should be sociable while Quinn was here even if he was in a bad mood. They made small talk before Rachel asked him if he wouldn't mind dropping her and Quinn at their respective houses. She knew something was bothering him and she knew he wouldn't talk about it in front of Quinn and his mother.

They waited in Quinn's drive until she walked in the door. Rachel sat silently until they were back on the road before she turned to Noah.

"Okay, she's gone now, what's wrong?" she asked. Noah sighed. He knew he wouldn't be able to hide anything from Rachel.

"I'm going to have to get a new job," he said pulling over.

"…Why?" Rachel asked.

"Rach, you know I have a reputation here with the… older women, but I can't keep that up now that we are getting married," he explained, "I'm not into cougars anymore and I don't want to be around them… so I've decided that I need to look for a new job."

"and, that's what has been bothering you?" she asked.

"I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea… I might have a reputation around here, but I'm not the kind of guy who cheats on his fiancé or wife."

Rachel smiled brightly at him and he remembered why they were friends in the first place. Rachel understood him and she trusted him. She lent over and kissed his forehead. Even when he was going through his 'cougar phase," Rachel had not said anything. However, Noah was always aware she didn't approve.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He dropped her at her house promising that he would call her later on as he kissed her forehead.

* * *

_***** Please Read =) *****_

_**I am overwhelmed by the support I get from this story. I started writing it because I had this idea that refused to get out of my head. It was more for me than anything else. I know its quite out of character but I appreciate the comments you give me.**_

_**That said, I do struggle coming up with 'special moments' between our two favorite characters at times and would GREATLY APPRECIATE your ideas. **__**PLEASE**__** include your ideas in your reviews and I will think of some form of reward for any of the ideas I choose to use.**_

_**Keep reviewing. Your all amazing =) Xxxx**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**AN: Yay! New chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It was good to hear your thoughts about some 'Puckleberry' moments. A lot of the ideas given, I have actually already used so it was good to hear I'm on the right track! **_

_**Please keep the review coming. They are fabulous. Xxxx**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

Rachel's dads dropped her at Noah's house on their way to work on Monday morning. Letting herself in the front door she found Noah and Zia sitting on the couch watching cartoons.

"I thought your mom said no cartoons before school," she said to Zia who was sitting on the couch in her school uniform.

"What mom doesn't know, won't hurt her… right Noah?" Zia responded looking up at her big brother with puppy dog eyes.

"Mom's in the shower, we'll turn it off when she gets out," he said with a smirk.

They took Zia to school, where Rachel was introduced to all of her teachers and shown everything in the classroom. Zia's teachers didn't try to hide their shock when they learnt Rachel was her brothers fiancé and that they would be married in a few weeks.

They spent the morning planning every aspect of the wedding. Noah was trying to show some interest but flowers were flowers to him. Rebekah hung up her phone call with their local Rabbi.

"We have a date, 20th October, after that the next free date is in 3 months," she explained. Rachel did the math in her head, that was a little over 3 weeks away. There was lots to organize but three months was too late. Now that they had a date they could get the most important thing done. Invitations.

The afternoon was spent printing, cutting and sticking paper to make their invitations. They had decided to have the reception in the Berry's spacious backyard. Rebekah had asked her friends from temple to help with the catering as it wasn't going to be a big affair and they weren't strict in their kosher diet.

"Do you want to have a bridal party?" Rebekah asked.

Rachel and Noah shared a glance. They hadn't talked about it but Rachel knew Noah probably wanted Finn and Jamie to be part of the events.

"I'm assuming you want to have Finn and Jamie with you?" she asked him, "It _would_ be nice to have Quinn up there with me, and maybe Santana."

Noah nodded, "right well ill call Jamie tonight and we can ask the others when we go to drop of the invites during glee rehearsals tomorrow."

"… and perhaps Zia would like to be a flower girl," Rachel added. Noah smiled knowing his sister would love that idea.

* * *

Rebekah dragged her son out of the house to go and get a suit organized for him, leaving Rachel to finish up what she could of the invitations. They were printing them on a creamy colored card (as Noah had insisted pink was too girly) but were decorating them with a small green and purple flower stamps to add a bit of color. In all they were only inviting 50 or so people; Their friends from Pilton, their friends from McKinley, Mr Shue and Ms Pillsbury, their parents and Noah's sister, a few family friends from the synagogue and a few close family members. Just a small celebration.

When Rachel's fingers began to hurt from all the cutting, she made a start on dinner. She was planning on staying the night so the least she could do was help out with dinner. She was chopping up vegetables for a stir fry when Zia returned from her play date with a friend from school. Rachel fixed the young girl a snack as she listened to her recount of her day.

"Mrs Trevathan wanted to know how you could be Noah's fiancé because you're both so young. But don't worry I told her all about it and she said it was very interesting," the young girl chatted. When Noah and his mom got home Zia was helping Rachel cook.

"I did not know how stressful it is to find a suit!" he gasped, "Did you know a suit is not just a suit? I do now! I made the mistake of mentioning that to the sale assistant and he gave me a twenty minute lecture about the different kinds of suits!" Rachel could not contain her laughter any longer, she burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" he said with a smile.

"At least you don't have to worry about your hair or make up," she said playfully rubbing her hand through his strip of hair, "… I had to find a dress and shoes and then I have to decide what to do with my hair and make up."

"I was going to shave it off for the wedding," he said indicating to his head.

"NO! Don't do that!" she practically yelled, "I like it… it's part of what makes you, you."

Rachel clearly remembered the day Noah rocked up at her house with a Mohawk claiming it made him more badass.

Noah smiled brightly at her and led her upstairs. He sat her down on his bed and turned to face her.

"Rachel, I cannot begin to thank you enough for everything you are doing for me," he said quietly, his eyes watering over as he held back tears, "I know how hard it must be for you."

"Oh Noah! I wouldn't have it any other way," Rachel said softly, "Ill admit, its all happening a little earlier than it was supposed to, and that it is going to be a lot harder because of that, but you know I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't want too!"

Noah looked up at her, tears falling down his face freely. They were tears for his grandmother but mostly they were tears because he was so thankful to have Rachel. He wordlessly pulled her into his lap. Both understood the need for silence and they stayed like that for a good few minutes.

"Lets just take each day as it comes, and have fun!" Rachel broke the silence, tugging him up and back down the stairs to help her finish dinner.

* * *

After they had eaten, Rebekah, Rachel and Noah made a plan of what they needed to do tomorrow. First the bakery to organize a cake, then the florist, and finally they would go to glee rehearsals to start handing out invitations and to ask Mr Shue and the glee clubbers if they could help organize music for them.

Noah had enjoyed the cake choosing. The baker gave them samples to try and they decided on a chocolate mud cake (after all they were still just kids). Selecting flowers had not been as painful as Noah had thought. Rachel had known exactly what she thought would be appropriate. Things were almost all sorted and it was looking like it was going to be a great day.

* * *

When Will Schuester walked into the choir room ready for Glee rehearsals on Tuesday afternoon, he found his female lead, Rachel, and one of his strongest male singers, Puck, were still absent.

"Rachel and Puck aren't here again?" He asked.

"They are at home getting things ready for the wedding," Quinn explained, "… but I thought Rachel said they were going to come to Glee today."

Even the thought of the teenager's marriage seemed unreal. If someone had told Will last week that two of his students, ones who had appeared worst enemies, would be getting married, he would have laughed at them. The pair had acted like complete opposites. He was the jock and she was the geek, and yet when they had come to Glee last week they acted very differently.

There was a knock on the classroom door.

"Sorry we are late Mr Schue," Rachel responded coming into the room closely followed by Noah, "We have been organizing everything for this wedding."

It was clear that Rachel was tired. She reached into a bag, pulled out a stack of envelopes and handed some to Noah.

"We have your invites though," Puck explained, helping to pass them out to the excited mob before him.

Rachel handed an envelope to Mr Schue, "Ms Pillsbury's is in their too," she explained.

"Wow guys, I'm touched that you are inviting me to your wedding," he responded sincerely.

"Actually, Mr Schue, we have a bit of a favor to ask you and the others if you don't mind," Noah asked.

"We were hoping that you guys could help us out with the music… you know, make some CD's with a mix of music that we could just play through the night," Rachel explained, "it's just a small event so we don't want a DJ or anything." The group burst into a whirlwind of conversations. Everyone was talking about what songs and kind of music they should choose.

"Well guys, I think that is a unanimous decision- we would love to help you and will have the music sorted by the wedding day," Kurt spoke for the group.

The rest of Glee practice was relatively normal. They practiced their songs for Sectionals and everything was coming together nicely. As everyone was filing out of the choir room, they asked Quinn, Santana and Finn to stay behind.

Finn was pulled to the opposite side of the room by Puck.

"Hey Dude, you know you're my best friend right… well, besides Rachel," Puck asked. Finn nodded, looking a little confused, "Well I was kinda hoping you would agree to be my best man at this wedding," He continued, "My friend Jamie is going to be the other groomsman and Rachel is asking the girls now."

"W-Wow!" Finn stuttered, "Of course I will Man," replied shaking his friends hand with a big goofy grin. Puck relaxed, he had been nervous about asking Finn all day.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Rachel was talking to the girls.

"Okay, so you know we are not having a big wedding," she started, "but we have decided to have a small bridal party… and I was wondering if you, Quinn, would be willing to be my Maid of Honor, and Santana, if you would be my other bridesmaid."

"Wow, I'm touched… I mean, we haven't been friends for all that long and before that I was an absolute bitch to you," Quinn said, "are you sure that this is what you want?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Rachel nodded, "I know we haven't been friends for that long, but I can see you are sincere in your intentions of friendship now and that means a lot to me. For you to admit you were wrong shows a lot of courage."

Santana hugged the girl in front of her, "I've seen a different side of you these last few weeks Rachel, and I really like that person- I would be honored to be in your wedding."

"Yay! More dress shopping!" Quinn called out, causing the girls to laugh.

* * *

_**I'm writing my class' reports at the moment so I am highly un-motivated… Make me happy. Please review =)**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN: Sorry this is a little later than normal. I had a hard time getting it just how I wanted it. Hopefully I've at least meet the middle ground. The next few chapters are the exciting ones so I will try to get them up on time.**_

_**Thank you to everyone who review chapter Seven. I am blown away with the support this story has been getting. I have 4 other stories that I have written but I'm not sure whether to wait and post them after Our Little Arrangement has finished or start now.**_

_**Elle**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

Noah dropped Rachel at her house and she ran upstairs to her room, turned on her laptop and pulled a box out from under her bed.

She was going to work on part of her wedding present to Noah. She had been collecting photos and videos for a long time now and was planning on putting them altogether to create a dvd. She had also ordered him a collector football jersey he had had his eye on for a long time, but that was yet to arrive.

She started with the older photos, searching through albums to find the best ones and then scanning them onto her laptop. Her favorite photo so far was of her and Noah when they were 3 or 4. Noah was covered in what appeared to be ice cream, and both of them were bawling their eyes out. Rachel's daddy had commented on that being a regular occurrence for them.

Noah called Rachel after dinner.

"Hey Squirt."

"Hey yourself handsome," Rachel replied.

"So I was thinking, now that we have a date for the wedding and all, we should probably stop trying to hide this from everyone at school… I mean, I would like that, I don't want to hide you anymore Rachel," he admitted quietly.

Rachel had to gasp at the emotion behind his voice.

"I would like that too Noah," Rachel smiled, "but I don't think making a big announcement is the way to go."

"Alright then, what if we just stopped hiding, you know just be ourselves… well how we are away from school… people don't have to know about the wedding yet," He suggested.

"… but what about your reputation Noah, that was the reason we hid this in the first place. If we are suddenly best friends, you know what is going to happen," Rachel replied.

"Rach, I couldn't care less right now, our agreement has never been fair on you. You're my best friend- I'm not hiding that anymore. Plus, I'm still a badass and will have their heads if they do anything to either of us."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Thank you Noah," Rachel muttered sincerely, "so tomorrow, we go to school together and be ourselves," she asked not really needing a reply.

* * *

When Noah let himself into Rachel's house the next morning, he found her flustering around in her room.

"What's going on?" he asked worriedly.

"N-Nothing," she stuttered.

"Don't lie to me Rachel, I know you better than that," he said sternly.

Rachel sighed, walking over to Noah and running her hands down his arms.

"Nothing is wrong Noah, I'm just a little nervous about today," she admitted, "I couldn't decide what to wear this morning. I know this is going to sounds silly but I don't know whether to take more spare changes of clothes than I usually do. Who knows how the others are going to react. We could end up getting slushied more than once a day!"

Noah cringed, it was his fault she even had to think about that, he had started the slushie war. He smiled supportively at her but took her spare changes of clothes out of her bag. He looked at his letterman jacket slung over his arm.

"I don't think you are going to need all of them, but I was wondering if you wanted to have this," he said handing his jacket over to her. Rachel looked confused.

"Why?" she asked.

"It's tradition for a guy to give his girl his letterman jacket," he explained, "and I think being my fiancé counts as being my girl!"

Rachel smiled, that was the first time she had heard Noah call her his fiancé.

"I think it does too," she said slipping her arms into the jacket he was holding around her shoulders and breathing his scent in.

* * *

Rachel fiddled with the radio in Noah's car, singing along quietly with the station. Noah loved to listen to her sing. He thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world. When they arrived at school, Rachel went to open her door but she was stopped by her fiancé.

"Let me get the door babe," he said as he climbed out of his truck and opened her door for her. They walked hand in hand. Rachel had been right, them arriving holding hands and her in his letterman jacket had caused a stir. Puck had never given any girl his jacket to wear and so it was a statement as to how serious they are. As they walked in the big doors of the school people were stopping and staring. Noah saw her cheeks flush pink. This was an awkward situation she was in but she was bravely soldiering on. They walked up to her locker where Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Tina, Artie and Kurt were waiting for her. They looked shocked to see them arrive together.

"What?" he said, taking in the looks on their faces, "you guys have known about this for a while, it can't still be a surprise."

"So I take it, this is no longer a secret," Artie said indicating to Rachel and Noah's joined hands.

"We are letting people figure it out for themselves, but we are not hiding it anymore," Rachel explained fiddling with the zip on Noah's jacket.

"I have to go babe, ill see you at lunch," Puck said with a quick kiss to her forehead as he and the boys went to get ready for football.

* * *

_RACHEL:_

Rachel's day was awkward. Everywhere she went, people stared and whispered. They hadn't done anything dramatically different. Just acted more like themselves and stopped hiding their friendship. She was even approached by some of the cheerios asking if she was paying Puck to date her. That particular rumor hurt the most. Some students didn't even realise they had broken up in the first place. The majority of the students were happy for them but there were a few students who had made some rather distasteful remarks about Rachel.

Rachel was shocked at the sight she saw as she and the original Glee kids walked into the cafeteria at lunch. A large group of students were crowded around what appeared to be a fight. It wasn't until she got closer that she recognized one of the fighting students as her Noah. They rushed forward and she pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

"Noah!" she shouted, "What do you think you are doing?"

But Noah ignored her and continued to punch Dave Karofsky in the face.

Finn and Mr Schue rushed to pull Noah away from the teenager. When he realized he was not going to be allowed to continue his fight, he yelled out to the boy.

"Don't you EVER talk about her like that again," he shouted before storming straight passed Rachel, out of the room. Rachel stood frozen to the spot as everyone turned to look at her. Her face turned bright red and she turned on her heel and ran after Noah, muttering an '_Ill go talk to him'_ as she left.

* * *

_NOAH:_

Puck had tried to keep his head down for most of the morning. He heard the whispers as he walked passed and chose to ignore them. They had no right to have any say in his life. As far as he knew, no one had actually realized he and Rachel were getting married, only that they are now together. He wasn't sure how they hadn't noticed her playing with the ring on her left hand like he had noticed so many times.

It was when he got to the lunch room that the trouble started. He was heading for the glee table when he overheard the conversation between Dave Karofsky and the other Neanderthal hockey players.

"… I know, she must be insane in bed coz I can't think of any other reason why Puckerman would willingly be seen with her," the hockey captain stated.

Hearing this Noah lost all control over his actions and he flung himself straight at Karofsky.

"How dare you say that about her, you don't know the first thing about her!" He shouted angrily.

As he threw punches at the boy in front of him, he vaguely registered Rachel's voice in the crowd. The next thing he knew he was being pulled back.

"Don't you EVER talk about her like that again," he shouted and turned to storm out of the cafeteria, not even noticing a shocked Rachel standing in front of him.

He made his way straight to the bleachers. He was only there for a few minutes before he felt Rachel sit down next to him.

"Do you want to tell me what that was about?" she asked gently, rubbing his back soothingly and handing him an ice pack she picked up from the nurses station on the way.

Noah was silent for a few minutes, holding the ice to his cheek.

"You know I don't care what people think of me Rachel, but when I heard them talking about you, I just couldn't take it any longer… I'm sorry you had to see that," he said quietly.

"Whilst I appreciate you defending my honor, I would rather you didn't go around beating people up," she said with a smirk, hoping a bit of humor would make him feel better. She wordlessly got out her Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich, which she knew was his favorite, split it in two and handed him half.

"Can we just stay out here for the rest of lunch?" he asked pulling her close to him and taking a bite out of the sandwich. She nodded, leaning into his embrace. As she promised, they stayed outside for the remainder of lunch. Knowing they had their next class together he stood and entwined their hands. Wordlessly he lead them to their next class where they ignored the pointed stares from the numerous jocks and cheerios.

Santana walked in and took a seat next to Rachel. She looked over at the pair. Puck had the beginnings of a black eye forming and his lip was split.

"Don't worry, it will all calm down after a few days," She started, "I'll talk to the other Cheerio's at practice tomorrow. As their captain, they pretty much have to listen to whatever I say anyway."

Rachel smiled at her friend before turning her attention back to the teacher.

* * *

_**So as you can see, I had a go at doing the whole different points of view thing. I'm still not entirely happy with the way this chapter ended up but I think it is a necessary part of the storyline. These chapters usually only get read by me, myself and I before I post so please please please let me know if there are any mistakes that I need to fix up.**_

_**On a different note, I had a PM asking me about where I live. It's a small country town (pop 1000) in Western Australia and yes I do like it here. Unfortunately, with the way the school is changing in size, I won't be here next year… I'm likely making the swap to an even smaller town (pop 82) where I would be teaching the grades 4-7 in one class. But I'm excited for the challenge!**_

_**Keep the reviews coming! I have finished my classes' reports now and love to read them.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hello Hello! I am sorry for the long delay. I decided to take a holiday last minute. Those of you who are regular readers know that I am pretty good with keeping my updates on time. School starts in a little over a week and I'll be busy getting to know my new class, so I wrote a few extra chapters over the break. **_

_**Hopefully this Chapter will make up for the wait. Please let me know what you think.**_

_**Elle xox**_

**Chapter Nine**

After Glee on Friday afternoon, Quinn, Santana and Rachel took a trip to the mall in search of dresses for the wedding Whilst Noah went with Finn to get a suit organized.

Rachel had informed the girls that she did not mind what color they chose however Noah had insisted that it not be pink. Instead they settled for a deep purple color that suit both of them fantastically and matched the sash and beads on Rachel's dress. The dresses chosen were similar to Rachel's in style; strapless, fitted around the chest where they flowed gently to the knees.

After paying for the dresses, they went straight to meet the boys in the suit shop to help them get their accessories in matching colors.

As they were leaving the store, Noah reached for Rachel's hand and Finn reached for Quinn's.

"Aww, I'm starting to feel left out guys!" Santana whined jokingly as she nudged the girls with her shoulder. Rachel and Quinn shared a glance and both lent over and kissed a cheek each.

The small group headed to the food court. The girls gossiped over wedding details whilst the boys talked about the latest video game Finn was planning on buying. Rachel couldn't help but think how nice this was. She was engaged to one of the most popular boys in school and had friends who weren't just using her. She smiled and lent into Noah contently.

* * *

Today was Sunday, just under 2 weeks before their wedding. Today was the day the McKinley group were going to meet the Pilton group and Rachel and Noah couldn't help feel a little nervous. They wanted all their friends to get along. They were going to meet up at the lake for lunch. There was going to be a small festival to celebrate the Lima holiday, followed by a firework display that evening.

Their friends from Glee were all going together and by 11.30 they had claimed a shady spot under a tree for the day. Rachel and Noah arrived shortly after with a truckload of food in tow. They greeted their friends chatting about Sue Sylvesters latest stunt to get Glee club cancelled.

Mercedes was explaining the scene she had witnessed between the coach and Mr Schue when Rachel squealed loudly and took off towards a group of teens across the park.

"I take it they're your friends from your old school," Matt asked Noah.

"Yeah," he replied with a smile, getting up to follow Rachel. The glee kids watched as Rachel enthusiastically embraced each member of the group individually before jumping on a tall, handsome boys' back and pointing towards their tree. Noah had his arms wrapped around the shoulders of two girls as he led the group over. Rachel laughed as she was dropped to the ground.

After all introductions were made, they sat down to eat a packed lunch. Noah's mom had made a round of sandwiches and salads for the group.

"I was very surprised when I got your wedding invite! I still can't believe you two are actually going to be married in less than a fortnight," said Leah, a bubbly girl with short brown hair as she gazed at Rachel's ring, "I seriously thought you were going put it off for a few more decades!"

Rachel and Noah shared a look.

"Savta is sick, we want to do this before she…" Noah's voice dwindled off, knowing they would understand.

"Oh, I'm sorry Noah… I didn't know," the girl said softly.

Jeremy and Jamie, the tall boy who had carried Rachel on his back, changed the topic, telling the glee kids numerous stories about the troublesome Noah and Rachel.

"… and when we were 12, Noah was in detention for swearing… again," Jeremey recounted, "When Rachel decided she was going to break him out. 'Little Miss Dramatic' that she is, she recruited us as lookouts as she burst into the room in tears, telling our teacher that she was having an emotional breakdown and needed Noah to help her deal with it. When Ms Harper had refused, Rachel said… and I quote, 'oh for fucks sake, it's my time of the month and his mom is taking me home'. Ms Harper was speechless and let him go… It had taken Rachel a good couple of days to convince Noah she had made it up."

The entire Glee group looked at Rachel in shock, who had gone bright red.

Noah laughed at the looks on their friends faces, "I told you Rachel at our old school was very different to Rachel at McKinley. She used to get into just as much trouble as I did! If not more!"

"Yes well, that was before I figured out that to get into Julliard, I actually needed to get decent grades in school instead of having fun all the time," she said smugly, "of course that particular event had backfired when we got back to school the next week and were _both_ put back into detention for my little 'outburst'."

"If it's stories you want, I have some fantastic ones involving Noah and his dream to be an ice skater," Rachel continued with a smirk, "unfortunately for him, his dream was short lived when Rebekah finally took us to the rink and proved that he had absolutely no talent on the ice! He nearly died when he realized I was better at it then him."

"I'd watch what you say Berry, I have dirt on you too," he retaliated gently punching her arm.

"You do realize you are not going to be able to call me that for much longer," she said looking up at him with a smile. She was hoping he would understand what she was talking about.

"Are you serious? You made a decision?" Noah asked surprised that she had chosen now to bring this up.

"Yes Noah, I have decided I am going to take your surname," she said smiling brightly at him. They had talked about it a few days ago. Noah had not wanted her to feel pressured into taking his name. He pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her waist, her arms automatically found themselves around his neck as he buried his face into her shoulder, whispering in her ear, "Thank you."

All eyes of the remaining 20 teenagers were on Noah and Rachel's exchange. The girls let out a chorus of sighs and gasps.

It was Santana who made the situation a little lighter, "God Rachel," she said putting the back of her hand on Rachel's forehead as if checking to see if she was ill, "Are you sure you want to become a Puckerman?" she joked. Rachel laughed and nodded her head.

"Oh god!" Finn cried out, "Two Pucks in one school!"

"Come with me Squirt," Noah said grabbing Rachel's hand, "I want to go get a soda."

Everyone knew that he didn't really need a soda, they had plenty to drink with them, but they understood the couple needed a moment alone.

They walked hand in hand silently for a little while before Noah asked, "Are you really sure this is what you want Rach?"

"Yes Noah, I haven't been surer of anything since I decided I was going to become a Broadway star… We are getting married, I know I will regret it later on if I don't," she confirmed.

"Thank you, I cannot say that enough… just Thank you Rach, for believing in me," He said quietly. Rachel searched his eyes, she wasn't sure what she was looking for but was touched by the emotion she saw.

Noah pulled her to him and lent down and kissed her gently. Rachel was in shock, he was kissing her! And not just on the forehead… on the lips! Once the shock wore off she relaxed into his lips. When they pulled apart and she opened her eyes, she saw him smiling at her.

"Come on, lets go back before Jamie starts telling the Glee club more of our not so memorable moments," he said wrapping an arm around her waist, "or starts hitting on Santana again!"

Nobody said anything when they came back without a soda.

* * *

As the sun set, the arguments started over what to get for dinner. Half of the Pilton group tried to keep kosher, so pizza was out of the question for them. Instead the girls sent the boys of to a number of different shops, diners and restaurants to get a selection of food.

Noah, Jamie and Finn were charged with going to McDonalds and were currently waiting for their order.

"So Noah, What was that little moment with Rachel about this afternoon?" Jamie asked slyly, "I have _NEVER_ seen you two act the way you did today after Rachel told you she wanted to become a Puckerman."

Puck couldn't help but blush a little at his friend's statement, "you both know Rachel is my best friend, I just really appreciate everything she is doing for me," he admitted, "I think I love her."

"Look, I've know you both for a long time and in that time… Rachel has never and I mean never, done anything she didn't want to do," Jamie responded, "…You two are more perfect for each other than you would like to admit!" he muttered under his breath.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Noah questioned.

"It means Rachel called and had this conversation with Leah last week and as soon as they hung up, Leah called me and blabbed… Trust me, you don't have anything to worry about."

Noah was shocked._ Rachel had been thinking about this too?_ He knew they needed to have a long overdue conversation.

"Dude! You've fallen in love with your fiancé… how backwards is that!" Finn said with a laugh.

* * *

Back at the park, Quinn pulled Rachel aside.

"So, Miss Berry… Soon to be Mrs Puckerman, What was that special moment you shared with Lima's resident bad boy today," she asked.

Rachel smiled. Over the past couple of weeks she had found Quinn very easy to talk too.

"He kissed me Quinn!" she said with a dreamy smile. Quinn squealed. she was excited for her friend.

"You have to have that conversation with him… Tonight!" Quinn ordered.

The boys started to arrive and food was passed around. They were just finishing packing up when the announcer put over a message letting the crowd know the fireworks would be starting in 5minutes. They all lay down on the picnic rugs looking up into the night sky as the firework show started up.

Rachel curled up into Noah's side as she often did when they stayed at the same house. It wasn't long before she found herself drifting off to sleep with the sounds of the fireworks in the background.

When the fireworks display was over, Noah looked down at Rachel and found her sound asleep. The park floodlights came back on and put a finger to his lips telling his friends to keep quiet whilst they packed up. He said goodbye to his friends. As Quinn and Finn helped him carry all their stuff to the car, he carried a sleeping Rachel. He was almost there when she stirred.

"Shh babe, you can go back to sleep," he said softly.

Rachel wiggled in his arms, asking him to put her down. Quinn and Finn were waiting at the truck for them. They smiled when they saw Rachel was now awake.

"We'll see you guys at school on Tuesday," Quinn said giving Rachel a hug and whispering in her ear, "it's time you had that conversation, let me know how it goes."

He pulled his car into the Berry driveway.

"Noah, can we talk for a minute?" She asked quietly, "I have something I need to ask you?"

The pair walked in to Rachel's dark house. Her dad's were out for the evening so they had the place to themselves. Puck could tell Rachel was nervous. When she was, she wouldn't look him in the eyes. Grabbing a bottle of water each they sat down on the couch. Rachel turned to face her friend.

"Noah, do you love me?" Rachel blurted out.

Puck nearly spat his water out as he faced her in shock.

"What! Of course I do," he stated.

"Well, I know you love me like a best friend, but…" she stuttered over her words, "Noah, we're getting married, I need to know how you really feel about me."

She could see she had made her fiancé uncomfortable, but it was a conversation they needed to have.

"I've come to realize over the last few months, that I love you as more than just a friend... and then you kissed me today and… I just need you to know how I feel before we get married," Rachel admitted turning away from Noah. They sat in silence for a few minutes and Rachel was starting to get worried. Puck hadn't shown any reaction. He had just stared at her. She got up to leave the room but was stopped when Puck gently grabbed her wrist.

"Just give me a minute Squirt," he said with a soft smile, taking a minute to gather his thoughts, "… Rach, I have known you for a long time and I have loved you for most of that… I love the short skirts you wear, the way you are so focused at school and I love the fact you are so short that the nickname I gave you when we were six still fits. God Rachel, I love you so much, I just wasn't sure you felt the same way and… I couldn't have handled being rejected," he finished pulling her in even closer to him so she was almost sitting in his lap.

To anyone else, him telling her she was too focused and short might have sounded like an insult, but not to Rachel.

Rachel's face burst out into a smile and she reached her hand up behind his neck to pull his lips down to meet his. The kiss was slow and intense but spoke volumes to the pair. Rachel felt herself melt against Noah and she parted her lips to allow him further access. As he gladly deepened the kiss, Rachel rested her hand behind his neck gently playing with the strip of hair. They broke away when the need for air became overpowering but didn't move far from each other. Noah smiled at Rachel and placed a gentle kiss on her nose. That was their first real kiss. Sure they had kissed before- the first time had been as a dare when they were about eight- but never had there really been so much feeling behind it.

"As much as I would love to stay, I have to head home," he said sadly, "I have to look after Zia tomorrow."

She walked him out to his car and pulled him in for another kiss before she watched him drive away. Just as she saw his taillights turn around the corner, she ran back inside and grabbed her phone. Flopping down on her bed she dialed Quinn's number.

"I asked him!" she yelled when the girl picked up.

"and…?" Quinn prompted, the suspense was killing her. She listened intently as her new friend explained all the details of the conversation including the kiss and promised to talk more at school on Tuesday.

Rachel fell asleep soon after her head hit her pillow with a big smile on her face.

* * *

_**Well? Was it worth the wait? A shout out to all the people who's name suggestions were included in this. 'Zzzooe' suggested the winning name 'Leah' it wasn't used much in this chapter but will be later in the story.**_

_*****PLEASE READ*****_

_**I need a wedding type song. Probably not for this story although, if I like it enough, I might use it in here too. If anyone has any suggestions please add them in your review. If you are interested, I am happy to do the same reward as last time for the winning song (A preview of a chapter before it is posted). Anyway… this is my shout out for help but please don't suggest Sweet Caroline, that has another place in this story.  
**_

_**And lastly, I want to get an idea of what your thoughts are on me posting another story. I have 3 more Puck/Rachel stories the same length as this one (40 000+ at this stage), should i post now or wait to finish this story completely first. I'm not sure how i want this story to end yet so it just keeps getting longer (and i'm totally open to ideas). Like i said, what are your thoughts? **__**Ta =)**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hi All! So I can't get the internet at my new place just yet so bare with me while I try to get it all sorted. To make up for the delay in updates, I have decided to start posting my second story called 'Picking Up the Pieces'. If you haven't already, check it out and let me know what you think.**_

_**Elle xox**_

Chapter 10

The following Wednesday, when the lunch bell rang, Noah dragged Rachel outside to the glee tree. Santana had been right, by now they were old news and most didn't seem to mind the change. Rachel even had Cheerio's talking to her casually now, she was pretty sure that was Santana's doing but she didn't care. They both knew, as soon as the school kids found out about their marriage the talk would start again. Right now they were happy with the way things were traveling.

The remaining glee clubbers, Mr Schue and Miss Pillsbury were huddled in the choir room eating their lunch and compiling lists of songs for the upcoming wedding. It was a little over a week away now and everyone was very excited.

"Ohhh, we have to put some ABBA on the CDs," Kurt shrieked grabbing the growing list of Brittany and adding a few ABBA songs. They had decided to first list all the songs they thought would be good, give the list to Puck and Rachel to check over and then Kurt and Mercedes were going to download and compile the songs and then create the CD's.

Mr Schue looked over the list, he was guessing they had enough songs to make over 10 disks and figured they must be close to being finished.

"I think we might have enough for the night now, does anyone know where Puck and Rachel are?" he asked, "Ill take our list to them too look over so Kurt and Mercedes can finish this off."

"Actually Mr Schue, We wanted too talk to you about an idea we had," Quinn said stopping the teacher in his tracks.

"We were trying to decide what to get Puck and Rachel as a wedding gift and apart from the usual, we had no ideas that we liked," Mercedes explained.

"So we started thinking about what Rachel and Puck really love… Music. We still want to get them a gift but we would like to perform a song for them as part of our gift," Kurt finished on behalf of the group.

"I think that is a fabulous idea guys, they will love it," the teacher beamed, "I can also help you with the 'gift' idea… Miss Pillsbury and I were thinking of putting some money towards a trip to New York for the two of them, but if you kids want to put in for it as well, we can get them a lot more, maybe even a night out at a Broadway Show."

The teenagers' faces broke out into broad grins. The idea was perfect! They would both love it. They made arrangements with Mr Schue to bring money to him so he could organize it on their behalf.

"Now that's sorted, does anyone know where I can find the pair?" he said holding up the list.

"They are probably at the glee tree again," Matt answered with a shudder.

"The what?" Mr schue asked, confused.

"The Glee tree… that's what we named the tree on the other side of the oval, it's where we hang out when we want to get away from everyone else," Santana explained, "Rachel and Noah go there like, a lot... although I don't think it is just to talk."

Mr Schue made his way across the oval, hoping he didn't find the pair in a compromising position. He was shocked when he found the two in what was obviously a very heated… game of black jack. They were betting with a bag of candy and Rachel had a grape lollipop in her mouth.

"You're playing cards?" he chuckled.

"Yup, you want in Mr Schue?" Rachel asked with a smile, "these are good lollipops."

"Uh, No… thanks, but I'll pass… The others think you are here for reasons other than talking and playing cards," he shook his head. Rachel was about to ask what he meant when it dawned on her and she blushed.

"Nah, we're not that stupid… "Puck explained with a laugh, "we just need to get away from it all sometimes."

"Fair enough… I was just coming over to give you our final list of music for the wedding," the teacher said passing the list over to an excited Rachel who had now abandoned her card game. Her eyes ran up and down the list and she grinned.

"It's perfect," she said happily, "I just have one song I would like to add." She took out a pencil and wrote in her selection.

_Sweet Caroline_

Noah looked it over and smiled, "good idea babe."

Will smiled at the obvious choice of song. It was their wedding and if they wanted a song he would make sure it was on the list.

That Friday, everyone was walking to Puck's house for a movie and pizza night. The event was acting as their bucks/hens night. Puck's mom had taken the night off work and Rachel's dads were coming round for dinner. Kurt and Mercedes were driving Quinn who didn't think she would survive the walk.

At that exact moment, the rest of the group were wishing they too had driven. They had been watching as the dark clouds were approaching as Puck and Rachel led them to the Puckerman house. By the time they arrived, they were drenched and glad their backpacks and overnight bags had gone in the car with the others. Santana had fallen at some point and was now covered from head to toe in mud.

Rachel led them all to the back door knowing Rebekah would not appreciate muddy footprints through the house. The others watched as Puck opened the door and yelled.

"Ima! We are going to need some towels," he screamed and looked back at the group, "… lots of towels!"

Rebekah came into the room with Quinn, Kurt and Mercedes in tow. They took one look at the group and burst out laughing.

"Oh dear!" she rushed out of the room and returned with a huge pile of towels.

"Dry yourselves off as best as you can… Rachel, take the girls up to your room and lend them some clothes while we put theirs in the dryer. Noah you can do the same with the boys once the girls are finished," she instructed.

"Ms Puckerman, would you mind if I have a shower… I slipped over and as you can see am now a little dirty," Santana asked. Rebekah laughed at the understatement, the girl was filthy.

"Of course not dear," she replied.

Once the girls had stopped dripping, Rachel and Quinn led them up the stairs and straight into Noah and hers room. The girls once again squealed when they saw the bedroom door and realized the pair shared a room and were even more surprised when they realized that there was only one bed in the room.

"See Rachel! I told you it was a big deal!" Quinn said exasperated.

"I don't see why, we have shared a room since we were kids," she replied ignoring the stares from the girls in the room, "plus, we are getting married in a week."

Quinn gave up and threw her hands into the air, "Whatever, lets find you dripping people some clothes… Rachel?" she indicated for Rachel to take the lead.

Rachel opened their wardrobe and the top 2 draws of the dresser. She had always kept a heap of her old clothes at the Puckerman house, "help yourself to any of my clothes but Noah would probably kill us all if I let you wear his," she smirked as she took one of his shirts off a hanger and started peeling off her wet clothes.

"So it's okay for you to wear his clothes?" Tina said between chatters as she watched Rachel pull a shirt that was obviously Pucks over her head. She finished the outfit off with a pair of black three quarter length tights and towel dried her hair.

"I'm different," Rachel said enjoying egging the others on. She pointed Santana towards the bathroom and gave her a fresh towel to use, "my shower stuff is in the bathroom cupboard. Help yourself."

Once they had all finished changing into dry clothes they gathered their wet gear and went back downstairs. The boys looked up and stared at them as they entered the room. Noah felt his knees go weak at the sight of Rachel dressed in his shirt and wet hair.

"All yours," Rachel said to the boys as she loaded their clothes into the dryer (and Santana's into the washing machine). The boys climbed up the stairs to the couples room.

"I can't believe I have known you for so long and have never been in your room," Finn commented, "although, now I see why! How long have you and Rachel shared a room?"

"I don't know, since we were little," Puck shrugged his shoulders and smiled at the picture on the wall. It was taken at the beach when they were on a family holiday two years ago. He was carrying Rachel on his back and they were both laughing at Zia who had fallen over in the water.

Matt and Mike were chuckling over a stuffed pink bear sitting on the desk in the corner. Noah was quick to defend himself, "That's Rachel's, not mine!"

While the girls waited for the boys in the living room Rebekah and Rachel made mugs of hot chocolate. Zia waltzed into the room the second Rachel sat back down.

"Rachel! Ima said if I'm really good, you might let me stay up with you for a little while tonight… can I please, please, please!" she cried this time giving Rachel those puppy dog eyes. Rachel couldn't help but notice Zia had the same spark in her eye Noah got when he wanted something too.

The glee clubbers watched with interest as Rachel interacted with who they assumed was Noah's little sister.

"If it's alright with Ima then it should be okay," Zia jumped for joy at these words but Rachel warned her, "…but you should ask your brother."

As soon as Rachel said this they heard a door close upstairs and the gang of boys made their way down the stairs. Zia seized the opportunity and launched at her brother.

"Woah Midget! What's your problem?" he said unlatching the little girl from around his waist.

"Ima and Rachel said I can stay up and watch movies with you big kids tonight, but only if it's okay with you."

Noah rolled his eyes. Of course they had left the decision to him. He could never say no to his little sister.

"I suppose that would be okay… I mean, you are after all the flower girl," he smirked at his sister. She had been playing the 'flower girl' card ever since they had asked her if she wanted the role.

The glee clubbers watched the exchange in shock as if they couldn't get any more surprises.

Movies were watched, pizza was eaten- over all it was a really fun night. Quinn, Santana and Brittany had even convinced Rachel and Noah to play a traditional bucks/hens night game of pop quizzing them on their partner.

Everyone had been shocked to learn just how well the pair really knew each other. They asked every question they could think of and the couple answered flawlessly.

They had to answer their partners:

Nickname: _Squirt/ Stretch_

Birthday: _December 18__th__/ August 17__th_

Favorite movie: _Rent/ The Matrix_

First Kiss:_ Each other- under the slide at school when they were eight._ (That answer had made everyone laugh).

When Santana asked them to 'name their partners favorite snack, they all dropped their jaws at the simultaneous answer.

"Puckleberries!"

"What!" came the chorus around the room. Rebekah and Zia laughed loudly.

"What the hell is that?" Santana asked.

"Puckleberries… you know those little gelatin raspberry lollies?" Rebekah started to explain, "When these two were about 6 or 7 they decided to call them Puckleberries because it was a mix of both their names."

The room burst into a fit of giggles at the inner-workings of a child's' mind.

"Well, I think we have a new couple name for you two… Puckleberry!" Kurt said getting a round of cheers from everyone except Rachel and Noah who just groaned.

Rachel declared it bed time and the girls went upstairs to get ready. They were going to sleep in the couples room whilst the boys were going to sleep in the lounge room. Although Rachel had offered Quinn the bed, Quinn had insisted she would be fine on the pull out and Rachel should have her bed.

Not long after lights out and Mercedes soft snoring could be heard, Rachel heard the door to the bedroom open. She turned and watched as Noah's outline tiptoed through the piles of sleeping girls.

"What are you doing Noah, you'll wake them up!" Rachel warned.

"I couldn't sleep and I was thinking… I have a packet of Puckleberries hidden in my top drawer," he answered.

"I know, I found them the other day," Rachel whispered, "bring them here, I want some too."

The pair sat silently on the bed eating their late night snack when they suddenly realized there was only one left.

"Don't you dare Berry! That is mine!" Noah declared.

"I saw it first!" Rachel complained.

"Oh would you both stop whining… ill have the last one," interrupted Santana, shocking the pair who had thought she was asleep.

"What?" Santana asked, shoving the lolly into her mouth as she climbed up to sit cross legged on the bed in front of them, "Nobody could possibly get to sleep with the racket you two were making."

Noah looked over at the clock, "It's almost midnight, I should go before Ima kicks me out," he mumbled, "Ill see you at the wedding."

He lent over and kissed Rachel quickly.

"The wedding? But that is still a week away, why won't you see him before then?" Santana asked Rachel.

"We might not be having a traditional wedding ceremony but Rebekah is insisting we don't see each other for the week before the wedding. If we were doing this traditionally, we probably would have only met a few times," she explained.

"Geez! How are you going to cope at school?" San asked curiously.

Rachel shrugged, "we will probably just alternate days or something."

The girls soon fell back to sleep next to each other on the bed.

_**Let me know what you think and don't forget to check out my new story 'Picking Up the Pieces'**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**AN: Hey all=) Finally the update you have all been asking for. I really appreciate the support. I'm at my mums house for a few weeks so should be able to get some regular updates in. Read the AN in my other story if you want the full story.**_

_**Please read the note at the bottom… I'm stuck and need advice.**_

_**Thanks**_

_**Elle xox**_

* * *

_**Chapter 11:**_

Rachel woke the next morning to light streaming in on her face and a soft knocking on the door.

"Come in," she told the person and the door opened to reveal Rebekah.

"I have sent the boys, minus Kurt, on their way so you can come downstairs now Rach," she said softly to the sleepy teens. Rachel and Santana repeated their conversation to the other girls who had confused looks on their faces. They got dressed and headed downstairs to eat the breakfast Rebekah and Zia had prepared.

"I don't understand why you and Noah are so upset about the whole, not seeing each other for a week," Zia began to chat while they ate, "I mean, why would you want to look at his ugly face anyway Rachel!"

The group gossiped about anything and everything until their parents came to pick them up. Rachel and Noah's mom were planning on going to the mall to get the last of the jewelry for the bridal party today. Noah's mom had brought their wedding bands the second they had sat her down and told them about their decision but they had got them engraved with each others names and '2010' and they needed picking up.

Rebekah drove them to the nearby shopping centre and they headed straight for the jewelry store. They spent far too long looking at the many different necklaces, bracelets and earrings, many of which were far too expensive to even be considered. Together they picked out earrings for Rachel, Quinn and Santana to wear. Rachel was planning on wearing her silver star of David pendent around her neck but wanted to get a bracelet to go with it.

After leaving the jewelry story significantly poorer than she was when she got there, she walked out with all the jewelry, including the rings, in hand. Rebekah brought them both lunch and they sat down to chat.

"So how are you feeling about all this Rachel," she asked, "we haven't had much of a chance to talk about it lately."

"I'm okay… a little nervous I guess, I mean, we are getting married in a week and we have not even spoken about what is going to happen after the wedding," Rachel panicked.

"What do you mean?" Rebekah asked, hoping she wasn't about to have a conversation about her teenage sons sex life. Rachel blushed when she realized what Rebekah was thinking.

"uh, I just meant, I stay at your house quite often but when we are married, do we move out, do I move in or do we stay in separate houses… I just think that last option sounds a little odd considering we will be married…" she faded out.

Rebekah smiled sympathetically at the girl. She was right, they hadn't spoken about what was going to happen after. Promising that they would all talk about it later once Noah could be part of the conversation in some way, they finished their lunch and Rebekah dropped Rachel back to her house and drove home to find her son.

"We need to talk," she said marching in the door and pulling her son up off the couch and into the dinning room.

"Do you want Rachel to move in?" she asked bluntly.

"Huh?" he was confused.

"When you get married… you know, in a week… where do you and Rachel want to live?" she asked, "I know you can't afford to move out, and Rachel thinks it would just be weird if you lived separately, so do you want her to move in?" she repeated.

Noah thought about what she was saying, and he agreed with Rachel, it would be odd if they lived separately. He nodded. Rebekah smiled.

"Right, well we can deck up the pool house for the two of you, it will be plenty big enough but it will take time. Until then, your room is still yours," she said, "Now, I'm going to give you an hour to go see Rachel so you can talk to her and her dad's about this, but I want you home by three."

Noah quickly got up and grabbed his keys. As he drove the familiar trip to Rachel's house, he thought about what his mom had offered. The pool house was perfect for them. The pool itself wasn't used very often however the house was still in great condition. It had a bathroom, and a spacious room they would be able to use as a bedroom, living room and study. They would still have to use the kitchen and dinning room in the main house, but they probably would have done that anyway.

He pulled into her drive and knocked on the door. He knew she wasn't expecting him and didn't want to scare her by using his key. The door opened to reveal Rachel.

"Noah, what are you doing here?" she shrieked, "we aren't supposed to see each other until the wedding!"

"Relax! My mom sent me around here to talk to you and your dad's… but I want to talk to you first, can we go somewhere?" he explained.

Rachel led him to her room.

"So mom told me about your conversation today and we think we have a solution," he started, "Mom said we can move into the pool house, it won't be ready for a while, but we can stay at mine until it's ready… but only if that's what you want."

Rachel beamed, "Oh, that sounds perfect Noah! And of course that's what I want. I want to live with my husband."

Noah had to grin at her referring to him as her husband, "and I want to live with my wife." He lent down to kiss her but she pulled away with a laugh and a shake of the head. She was taking this whole 'not seeing each other thing' far too seriously for his liking. They walked downstairs to talk to her dads.

"Dad! Daddy! Can we talk to you for a minute?" she asked. Her fathers switched the television off and gave the pair their full attention.

"What would you think if I moved into Noah's after the wedding?" she asked confidently.

Her dads shared a look.

"Rachel sweetie, we knew we were going to have this conversation at some stage, and we have been prepared for it for a while," Paul commented.

"We understand why you want to move out, and we are fine with it… but we have some conditions," Isaac explained, "Your grades are not to slip and we want you both to come around for dinner at least once a week… we don't want to loose our little girl completely just yet!"

Rachel threw her arms around her dads, "You will never loose me!"

The four chatted about what was going to be done with the pool house before Noah realized the time and jumped up.

"I have to go! My mom said I have to be home by three and I don't feel like dealing with my crazy Jewish mother today!" he quickly kissed Rachel's forehead and made the trip back to his house happy.

* * *

_****PLEASE READ****_

_**So do you guys want me to keep this clean or should I leave in the more 'intimate relations' between Puck and Rachel. I personally am on the fence, I think they have a place in the story but I am aware that some people don't think it is necessary. Please either review or message me with your opinion so I can make a justified decision based on what you want to read.**_

_**Thanks guys=) You're awesome as always!  
**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**AN: Yay! Another update! I have really struggled to get the next few chapters sounding right. They are important and I want them to be perfect but I'm not so sure. Let me know what you think.**_

_**I'm heading back to my house today, but I did get confirmation that my satellite is being hooked up next week. We'll see how we go but I have my fingers crossed!**_

_**Thanks for reading. Elle xox**_

* * *

_**Chapter 12**_

Rachel pulled her car into the carpark at school on Monday morning. The drive was lonely without Noah there to keep her company but due to their not being allowed to see each other for the week, they were having to alternate school days. Rachel would go Monday, Wednesday and Friday- the Glee days and Noah would go Tuesday and Thursday.

She quietly walked to her locker and got her things ready for the day. By the time lunch rolled around, Rachel felt like the day was never going to end. She made it to Glee club, exhausted, she collapsed on her chair. Apart from Mr Schue, she was the only one there and she probably would be for the next 15mins or so. Her teacher smiled at her.

"No Puck today?" Mr Schue asked her.

"Ah, no, we aren't allowed to see each other until Saturday," she explained, "We are alternating days but that means Noah won't be at Glee this week but he will still be in Spanish."

The teacher looked shocked but nodded at her before showing her some sheet music he thought would be good for Sectionals.

* * *

Noah was sitting on his bed doing his homework on Thursday when his phone lit up with a message.

_Miss you! Can't wait to see you on Saturday. XOXO Rach_

Sending a quick message back, he looked around his room. While Rachel did keep a few bits and pieces at his house, it was still his room. Making a decision, he started moving things around the room. When his mom saw what he was doing, she helped him to add the finishing touches. They hadn't done anything major, just rearranged the room, cleared out the closet and added a few girly items, like a vase and throw rug, but it was enough to make it look like a new room.

"Good thinking Noah, Rachel will really appreciate the effort you are making to make this both of your rooms," she said proudly as she fluffed up the pillows and sat down on her sons bed.

"Mom, are we doing the right thing?" he asked her quietly.

His mom smiled at him, "I honestly don't know, I ask myself everyday if we were wrong for asking this of you both… but then I see how happy your grandmother is and I am just so proud of the choice you have made," she explained, "Paul, Isaac and I will all be around to help you out, but we would never make you do something you didn't want to do."

Noah nodded. Rachel loved him and he loved her. Even if it turned out later on that they weren't meant to be together, he would have no regrets about giving it a go. He slept better than he had all week that night.

* * *

At school the next day, Rachel was a bag of nerves. She had run out of class twice before lunch time, feeling the horrible need to throw up. When she hadn't said a word all lunch Quinn, Santana and Brittany knew something was wrong and dragged her into an empty classroom.

"What is going on?" Santana demanded.

"I don't know, I'm so fucking nervous," she yelled. The three cheerleaders stared at her mouth agape. She had been spending way too much time with Puck. They burst out laughing.

"It's not fucking funny," Rachel retorted, "I never get nervous."

"Rachel, hun, I'm sure it is acceptable to feel nervous before you get married," Santana said putting her arm around the mess of a teenager, "you're marrying your best friend in the world... everything else will sort itself out."

"But if it makes you feel better, I'll let you in on a little secret Finn told me," Quinn whispered leaning in, "Puck called him this morning and they had a very similar conversation."

Rachel smiled at hearing Noah was feeling much the same. She took a deep breath and looked up at the girls.

"I have been a mess today haven't I?" she laughed.

"Yeah, but I think that is understandable," Brittany said shocking the girls who had not heard her use a word as big as 'understandable' in the correct context before.

"What?" she asked feigning innocence, "oh please, I'm not as thick as people think I am."

"I still can't believe you ran out of class twice this morning," Santana laughed changing the topic, "you think you're going to be okay now?"

"Yeah I'll be fine," Rachel replied, "are you girls still coming over after Glee today?"

Rachel was not going to glee practice today. Instead she was going to use the time to get some last minute preparations done with her fathers. Quinn, Brittany and Santana were planning to come to Rachel's after Glee to spend the night and help her get ready the next day.

They nodded their agreement and the group made their way back to the cafeteria where a now more relaxed Rachel was able to finish her lunch.

* * *

When the bell rang at 3pm to signal the end of the day, Rachel gathered her books and headed towards her locker. The Glee club, including Mr Schue and Ms Pillsbury were waiting for her.

Ms Pillsbury pulled her in for a hug, something unusual for her given her fear of germs, "Try to get a good nights sleep Rachel, We'll all be there tomorrow."

"Don't forget to have fun tomorrow," Mr Schue added wrapping his arms around the girl, "don't stress too much."

They each took their turn at hugging Rachel before they waved her off and hurried to the choir room.

"Alright everyone," Mr Schue said clapping his hands together, "let's run through the song for wedding tomorrow, we want it to be perfect."

They ran through the number three times before Santana spoke up.

"Mr Schue, I think we should call it a day," she explained, "Quinn, Brittany and I have to be up early to help Rachel get ready and I'm pretty sure she is not going to sleep at all tonight."

"I don't disagree but before we go, I just wanted to let you know that Ms Pillsbury and I went to the travel agent on Monday to pick up their present and we checked with their parents that it will all be okay for them to miss a couple of days of school," Mr Schue explained the plan, "So we were able to get them four nights accommodation in a nice hotel plus we have organized a night out to see 'Spring Awakening', a musical even Puck will enjoy, and dinner."

"Thanks for organizing it for us Mr Schue and Ms P," Finn said, "You guys are awesome."

They all nodded their agreement, making the last minute arrangements for tomorrow before saying their goodbyes and heading in their different directions.

* * *

Santana drove the girls to Rachel's house and were let in by her fathers.

"She is up in her room having a little freak out," Isaac said with a laugh as he indicated for the girls to head on up. As expected, Rachel was pacing back and forth across her room.

"Come on Berry, we have talked about this already," Quinn laughed, "you're going to wear the carpet out!"

"I just can't relax," she said worriedly.

"Lets just pretend this is any other sleepover and do what all girls do," Santana suggested. The other three looked confused.

"And what is that?"

"sing, dance, pillow fights, manicures, pedicures and face masks," Santana laughed.

She pulled all of the required equipment out of her overnight bag and walked over to Rachel's CD player. There practice CD for glee filled the room and uncharacteristically, she started singing and dancing around the room wildly to Don't Stop Believing.

The girls pulled Rachel up to join in with her solo and before long she was singing, laughing and dancing along with the others. When they were all thoroughly exhausted they collapsed in a heap on the bed.

"While normal I would suggest we could ruin our focus by not singing our songs properly… I have to admit, it helped me relax," Rachel admitted.

"You have got to do things for fun some times Rach," Brittany explained, "It can't all be about the future or you are going to have a breakdown."

Rachel nodded to show her understanding. Noah had told her that on several occasions but she had not fully grasped an understanding of what he meant until now.

"Okay, next on the fun agenda… facials," she said holding up a tub of face mask.

Rachel and Quinn were lying down while Santana and Brittany smoothed the cream over their faces.

"Umm, Rachel? Can I ask a question?" Brittany asked uncertainly as she worked on Santana. When Rachel nodded she continued, "Are you and Puck going to like, live together after the wedding? I've been wondering for a while but wasn't sure how to ask."

"It's okay Brittany, I understand our situation puts you guys in an awkward position," Rachel replied, "but in answer to your question, yes we are. Rebekah, Noah's mom, is redecorating the pool house for us but until then we are staying at his mom's."

They were all silent for a few minutes before Santana smirked, "so tomorrow is your wedding night huh?" She raised her eyebrows and looked at the girl before her, "does that mean our innocent little Rachel won't be so innocent anymore?"

Rachel could feel her face grow hot as she blushed furiously under the face mask. Instead of getting further embarrassed, Rachel chose to have her own little dig at Santana.

"So you and Jamie huh?" she cracked an eye open to watch the cheerleaders reaction. Santana turned red as Quinn and Brittany turned to look at her. They obviously had not noticed the interaction between the pair.

"How did you find out about that?" Santana exclaimed.

"Oh please, I have know Jamie for years… in fact, I dated him at one point, it was very obvious," Rachel laughed, "plus he called me to get your phone number earlier today," she added with a smirk.

Santana shrieked and jumped up and down on the spot.

"haha, obviously you are happy about that," Quinn said joining in with the laughter. Brittany just looked confused. They spent the evening gossiping while eating pizza and pampering each other until Paul and Isaac stuck their heads into Rachel's room.

"I think it might be time for bed girls… its going to be a busy day tomorrow," He said gently. Together they set up three mattresses on the floor. Rachel was going to sleep on her bed.

'Sleep' however, was not as easy as it sounded for Rachel. She tossed and turned for what felt like hours, before climbing out of bed and tip toed over the other girls. She made her way into the kitchen and quietly filled the kettle up. When she had been younger her dad's used to give her a cup of warm tea to help her sleep.

"Couldn't sleep either?" she turned to see her dad standing in the doorway. Shaking her head she indicated to the mug she set down on the bench, silently asking if he wanted one too. Pouring them each a mug they moved into the lounge room and sat on the couch. Paul wrapped his arm around Rachel and pulled her in tight. The tears Rachel had been trying to hold back suddenly became overpowering.

"I am so proud of you baby girl," he said quietly as he wiped her face dry, "I couldn't have asked for a better daughter. And you it's not like you are leaving us, you are just going to be living around the corner." He babbled on for a while trying to reassure both of their nerves.

"You'll always be my little girl Rachel," he kissed her forehead and rubbed her back. They stayed like that until they both finished their teas and silently made their way back to bed. Rachel was asleep in minutes.

* * *

**_What did you think? Wedding next maybe =P!_**


	13. Chapter 13

_**YAY! I have the internet! Woohoo! This is the much awaited wedding scene. To start off with I wanted to keep it very traditional but then I thought, I can't really see either of them doing that, so I have kept some things and changed some things. This decision was not meant to offend anyone, it is just what I felt it should be. I hope you all agree and like it.**_

_**Secondly, last time I updated, I asked what you thought about the details of the wedding night, most people said they wanted me to write it. So that is the decision I went with (It will be in the next chapter). But I will make sure it is in such a way that you can skip over it easily enough.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 13**_

The next time she woke was to a soft knocking at her bedroom door. Rolling over she told the offending knocker to come in. Her Dad and Daddy's faces popped up from behind the door.

"Morning Princess, We made you girls breakfast in bed," Paul said. They knew Rachel and Noah had decided to forego the 'fasting until after the ceremony' rule.

"Thanks Misters Berry," Quinn screeched, making a dig for the delicious looking food being placed on the bed.

"Please, call us Paul and Isaac," Isaac insisted, "its much less confusing."

The group ate the food as they chatted about the plan for the day. The wedding ceremony would begin at 3pm, so they had all morning to relax and get ready. Rachel was surprisingly calm considering how she had been the last few days. Brittany's mom had come to get her after breakfast and Rebekah arrived to drop off Zia.

"Are you sure you don't mind her getting ready here without me?" Rebekah asked Paul.

"It's no problem at all," he replied indicating how Santana and Quinn were fussing over little girl and painting her nails to match theirs.

"Being the flower girl is a very important role," Quinn said softly, "you get to be sort of like a mini Rachel," she added. Zia beamed at the girls loving the attention.

By lunch time, the girls were all showered and on their way to the hair dressers. All four of the girls were having their hair left down but pulled off their faces by small silver clips and loosely curled. It was a young and fresh look without being too formal and over the top. After the hairdressers they all went to get their make up done.

"I feel like a princess," Zia beamed excitedly as she twirled in her dress. The teenagers smiled at the little girl before turning back to help Rachel into her dress. Taking a step back, Quinn and Santana took in the sight before them.

"You look amazing Rach!" Quinn gushed fanning her face down before she started to tear up. Rachel smiled shyly at the girls before turning to look at herself in the mirror. She was smoothing her hands over the dress when there was a soft knock on the door.

"Can we come in girls?" came Isaac's voice.

"Yes daddy."

Her fathers came into the room and were speechless.

"Oh Rachel… sweetheart," her daddy started to cry, "You look beautiful."

Rachel rushed over and pulled her dad's in for a hug. Today was going to be hard on all of them but particularly hard on her fathers as Rachel would also be moving out.

"I love you dad and daddy."

"We better get going," Paul said wiping the tears away. It was only a short drive to the temple and one of Paul's friends from work had offered to drive them around for the day. Rabbi Greenburg understood why the teens were not so keen on a completely traditional Jewish wedding and had helped them to design a ceremony that worked for them. They had decided to forego the veiling part of the ceremony as Rachel was not too happy with the tradition.

Noah was to sign the Ketuvah before the ceremony, as was tradition, he would also have it witnessed. He would then walk down the aisle to the chuppah with his Mom and followed by Jamie and Finn.

When the music started Rachel bent down to hug Zia before pointing her in the right direction down the aisle. Santana went next, followed closely by Quinn. Rachel took a deep breath knowing it was her turn next. She linked arms with both her fathers and they started to walk. As they entered the room, she set her eyes on Noah and couldn't help but smile. Slowly they made their way to the chuppah.

Rachel saw all of her friends from Pilton and McKinley smiling from the benches. Mr Schue and Ms Pillsbury gave her a small wave and she turned her attention back to Noah.

Noah was amazed. He was sure his mouth was hanging open as he was watching Rachel walk down the aisle with her dads. She looked stunning. He looked quickly over at his mom and grandmother sitting in the front bench and smiled.

As the ceremony continued, their Rabbi recited some blessings and handed them the traditional wine to drink, they exchanged rings and the ketuvah was read aloud. Rachel had to smirk when she heard her friends chuckling at the thought of Noah agreeing to the obligations. The service was over once Noah smashed the glass with his foot and the room erupted into applause.

Rachel and Noah headed back down the aisle hand in hand while being congratulated by all their friends and family. They were given their twenty minutes behind a locked door together, before they would have to head outside for photos.

"Hi," Rachel smiled up at him.

"God I missed you Rach!" he said pulling her in for a hug, "I didn't realize how long a week was!"

"Yeah well we never have to do that again," she reminded him. The pair sat together in a comfortable silence to eat the snacks they had been provided with. They would not get the opportunity to eat again until the reception and were fine with enjoying each others company in silence. There would be plenty of time to… talk later.

They enjoyed the photo taking process, although it seemed to go on forever. The photographer kept coming up with new combinations. They had the traditional photos of Rachel with her dads, Noah with his Mom and sister, them together with each set of parents, whole family shots, individual shots, couple shots and various combinations with the rest of the bridal party. It could have gone on all day.

Eventually it was time to go to the reception and the bridal party all traveled together.

"I can't believe you guys are married!" Santana declared, "how freakin insane is that!"

Rachel smiled and leaned her back into Noah's chest. The Berry's backyard had been transformed ready for the reception. A number of chairs and tables had been set up to accommodate their guests and family and friends were bringing out plates of food.

Mr Schue, who was acting as MC for the night stood on a small platform to speak to the group.

"Hi all, Rachel and Noah have asked me to be the MC tonight. I met both of them at McKinley High where I was under the impression they were enemies," he explained to the group, "You can imagine my shock when I learnt not only have these two been best friends for years but they were also engaged to be married. I've really watched them grow the past few weeks and wish them all the best. So I would like to welcome for the first time, Mr and Mrs Puckerman!"

The reception was much like a party. People were happy standing around talking and listening to the music provided by the Glee club. Rachel and Noah did the rounds and spoke to each of their guests. They were able to talk to their parents properly for the first time since the ceremony. Rachel's dad's both hugged Rachel and shook Noah's hand.

"Congratulations sweetheart," Paul smiled, "We are so proud of you both!"

"Now you look after our little girl, won't you Noah?" Isaac said sternly shaking the boy's hand.

"Yes sir, You know I will," he replied.

Noah's mom was their next guest to stop at. She had cried, "I can't believe my little boy is married! God I feel old!"

Santana butted in upon hearing that, "you're not old, they are just insanely young!" The group laughed.

Hannah, who was out of hospital especially for the event, was ecstatic to have a beautiful young Jewish grand-daughter in law, "I didn't think I would live to see my Noah get married… and to such a beautiful girl. Thank you for making your grandmother so very happy."

After they had eaten and all guests had been spoken too, Will decided it was time for speeches.

Rachel's dads had given a lovely speech, telling a few stories about the pair when they were little, "…I think it was fifth grade when these two decided to 'get married' at school… it was just after they realized what an arranged marriage meant and they were both… embracing it… quiet literally. Rachel had declared she needed to wear her best clothes to school that day and picked a bunch of flowers from the garden. She came home and informed us she was now to be called Rachel Puckerman… we all, of course, knew one day she really would be a Puckerman but we couldn't be any prouder of them both right now... Welcome to our family Noah."

Rebekah had also welcomed Rachel to the Puckerman family and explained how the two first met, although her speech was cut short due to her being unable to control her tears.

Noah got up to speak on their behalf, "Hi everyone, thank you all for coming to celebrate today with us. I'm not going to talk for long or give a sappy speech because those of you who know me well know… I'm a badass," there was laughter all around, "but I do want say thank you to our families, particularly my grandmother… we are both really glad you could be here today. And last but not least, thank you to Rachel. You have been my best friend for years and I appreciate everything you have done for me. I love you," he leant down and kissed her soundly, "Thanks for coming and have a great night."

Mr Schue stood to speak again, "before we let you all get back to the party we have a couple of things for Rachel and Noah," he handed Rachel an envelope and she opened it while he spoke, "We know you weren't planning on having a honeymoon because of school, but we think you deserve it and all your friends from Glee, including Ms Pillsbury and I got together to get you something."

Rachel gasped as she realized what the envelope held. Inside were their fully paid for reservations at a hotel starting from tomorrow night (Sunday) through until Thursday, as well as two tickets to see Spring Awakening and dinner vouchers. Rachel stood and hugged her teacher.

"We have one more surprise for you both," he said as the remaining ten members of Glee club walked back into the room now dressed in one of their New Directions costumes and got themselves organized into rows and began to sing.

Do you hear me? I'm talking to you  
Across the water across the deep blue ocean  
Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying

Boy I hear you in my dreams  
I feel your whisper across the sea  
I keep you with me in my heart  
You make it easier when life gets hard

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend  
Lucky to have been where I have been  
Lucky to be coming home again

Ooh ooh ooh

They don't know how long it takes  
Waiting for a love like this  
Every time we say goodbye  
I wish we had one more kiss  
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend  
Lucky to have been where I have been  
Lucky to be coming home again

Lucky we're in love in every way  
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed  
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I'm sailing through the sea  
To an island where we'll meet  
You'll hear the music fill the air  
I'll put a flower in your hair

Though the breezes through trees  
Move so pretty you're all I see  
As the world keeps spinning 'round  
You hold me right here, right now

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend  
Lucky to have been where I have been  
Lucky to be coming home again

I'm lucky we're in love in every way  
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed  
Lucky to be coming home someday

Ooh ooh ooh  
Ooh ooh ooh, ooh

When they finished Rachel quickly rushed over (as best as she could in her dress) and hugged her friends, "That was amazing guys and such a perfect song choice! Thank you!" Noah shook all the boys hands and hugged the girls. Then the pair had their first dance to 'Sweet Caroline.' Everything was perfect.

* * *

_**YAY! Mr and Mrs Puckerman! I was excited to post this!**_

_**Please review!**_

_**Elle xox**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Hello Hello! Here is the long awaited wedding night scene! After hearing the update from FanFiction in regards to content and its rating, I have reposted this WITHOUT the adult details. Im sorry for those who wanted to read it and haven't had the opportunity. If you are desperate, PM me and I'll email it to you.**_

_**On another note, as my regular readers may have noticed, I updated Picking Up The Pieces earlier today as well as adding a new story, But I Like Chocolate Too. Please read!**_

_**Elle xox**_

* * *

The rest of the reception went by in a blur. They danced, sang, ate and just generally had a good time.

Rachel and Noah were staying at the Puckerman house that night, while Rebekah and Zia were staying at the Berry's house to give the pair some space.

When their driver dropped them at the house, Noah looked over at Rachel, smiled and bent over to pick her up, "gotta do this, it's tradition," he grinned at her.

Rachel laughed as he carried her up the stairs to their bedroom and threw her gently on the bed. She looked around the room and he watched as her face lit up with a bright grin.

"When did you do all this," Rachel asked running her hand over the new throw rug on the bed and indicating to the moved furniture.

"After you sent me a message earlier in the week telling me you missed me… I realized that while this is our room, it still looked a lot like my room so I moved it around and mom helped me add a few things she said you would like," he blushed as he told her.

She lent over and kissed him soundly, "Thank you Noah,"

"Your welcome, Mrs Puckerman," he whispered in her ear.

She laughed at the sound of her new name. It was so surreal. Noah left a trail with his lips from her mouth down to her neck and she hummed slightly as he found that spot. He was marking her as his property, and she was more than okay with it.

"I don't think I got to tell you how beautiful you looked today," he muttered.

"Your eyes spoke for you. You didn't look too bad yourself," she told him, "Noah, will you undo my dress for me?" she asked breathlessly between his kisses, as his lips once again found her mouth. He pulled back and looked her in the eyes. Noah could see what she was suggesting but didn't want her to feel pressured.

"Rachel, we don't have to do this. I know we are moving fast and I can wait until your ready," he told her.

She smiled at him, "I appreciate your concern, but I couldn't be more ready," she told him, "I have a gorgeous husband who I love and who loves me… I want to do this Noah."

That was all the invitation he needed. She turned around and he slowly unlaced her dress, placing kisses on her spine as it became visible. Rachel shivered at his touch as she felt the heat pool between her legs and before long she was standing in front of him in just her underwear.

"God Rach, you're so beautiful." For Rachel it was just perfect. Noah was gentle and slow and their first time together was perfect.

He pulled her close to him and she rested her head on his chest as they both tried to get their breathing back under control.

"That was… "She started.

"I know," he cut her off knowing exactly what she meant. That was the most intense feeling he had ever felt. There was something highly erotic about him being her first and it was heightened by the fact it was their wedding night. He kissed the top of her head, "I love you Rach."

"I love you too Noah," she replied with a smile. They drifted off to sleep in each others arms.

* * *

Noah woke on Sunday morning with his Rachel in his arms. She was still sleeping soundly so he turned slightly to watch her. She looked amazing, even with her hair tossed all over the place and yesterdays eye make-up slightly smudged. He ran his hand up and down her arm. Rachel stirred and her eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I didn't mean to wake you."

She snuggled further into his body and lent up to kiss him, "Can you believe we are married?"

"Yes," he replied honestly, "I would have asked you eventually anyway if we didn't have an arranged marriage."

Rachel's eyes widened at his admission and they lay in a comfortable silence for a while. Eventually Rachel looked at the clock and groaned when she realized it said 8.30. They were supposed to go back over to her dad's place for brunch at some point and although they hadn't specified a time, she knew they were expected before long.

"We need to get up," she told him before rolling over and burying her face into her pillow. He laughed at her actions. She had never been much of a morning person on the weekends. Noah climbed out of bed and slipped his boxers on.

"Where are you going?" she whined at him.

"To have a shower… care to join me?" he suggested.

She quickly followed him into the bathroom across the hall. After much making-out and some washing, the water went cold and they stepped out of the shower. Noah wrapped her in a towel before drying himself off. Rebekah had taken Rachel's overnight back to the Puckerman house after she had dropped Zia off the day before so she had plenty of gear there for her to get ready. They had decided they would leave for New York from Rachel's dads place so Noah needed to pack a bag.

It was nearly 10 by the time Noah's truck pulled into the Berry's driveway. Zia rushed out to greet them wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist.

"You're my sister now Rachel," the little girl pronounced as she hugged her. Rachel laughed at the statement. Noah held out his hand to Rachel and they walked inside. Rachel was not at all surprised to see Quinn, Santana, Finn and Jamie also sitting in the living room.

They greeted each of their guests before taking a seat on the couch. Rachel sat between Noah and Santana. While the boys were discussing the best route they should take to get to the hotel in New York, Santana lent over a whispered in Rachel's ear.

"Nice hickey… I take it you had a good night?"

Rachel blushed but smiled and nodded at her friend.

"When you get back from your honeymoon, I expect all the details," Santana whispered. Rebekah, Paul and Isaac had prepared masses of food for them all and they all sat around sharing stories from the wedding.

Eventually Rebekah spoke up, "You two should get on the road before it gets too late," she reminded them.

Rachel ran upstairs to her room with Quinn and Santana to pack. The pair had already put together some items for her but were leaving the rest up to her.

* * *

_**What did you think?**_

_**Please review! Lets set a review record!**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**AN: Hello Hello. Here is Chapter 15… it's a bit of a filler I guess. I didn't really think I needed to write the honeymoon but a lot of people wanted it so I did anyway. After hearing the update from FanFiction in regards to content and its rating, I have reposted this WITHOUT the adult details. Im sorry for those who wanted to read it and haven't had the opportunity. If you are desperate, PM me and I'll email it to you.**_

* * *

The drive to New York was long but comfortable. They spent their time arguing over various radio stations and singing along. Well, Rachel was singing. Noah was listening to her sing and thinking about how amazing she was. They arrived at their hotel and made their way to the reception area.

"Hi, Welcome to the Hilton Hotel, how can I help you today?" the chirpy young assistant asked them before looking up at Puck appreciatively.

"Um yeah, we have a reservation for Puckerman," he told her. Feeling uncomfortable with the way she was looking at him, he pulled Rachel closer.

"Oh the honeymooners!" she assumed rather shocked by their age. Rachel and Noah nodded.

"Well, here are your keys. Ill have Adam take your bags up now… check out on Thursday is at 10. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable."

They followed Adam through the many halls and elevators of the hotel too their room. Rachel was shocked by how beautiful it all was. They had a decent room with a stunning view of the city. Noah gave Adam a tip before collapsing next to Rachel on the bed.

"We have some really nice friends," she said as she rested her head on his shoulder, "this place is amazing."

"Best fuckin' wedding present ever," Noah replied crassly earning him a gentle shove from his wife. He looked over at Rachel to find her staring at him and lent down to kiss her. She kissed back with equal force and before long they were completely lost in each other. Rachel even let him 'play' this time.

* * *

It was late by the time they decided they should go get something to eat. They were laying in each others arms and Noah was rubbing her bare back when her stomach growled loudly.

"I guess that's a signal that I should feed you," he laughed at her softly.

"Hmm, I'm starving," Rachel admitted. They had not eaten in a while. She rolled out of bed and got re-dressed, very aware of his intense gaze watching her, "Noah get up! You have to feed me… You promised…remember," she joked reminding him of the obligations he had agreed to when he signed the Ketuvah at the wedding. She laughed at the way he frowned when he realized she was going to milk it for all she could.

They walked down the street their hotel was on and found a diner still open. Noah shook his head and laughed as Rachel ordered a burger with the lot and a large serve of fries.

"What! I'm hungry," she told him. He lent over and she could feel his breath on her neck by her ear.

"It must be all those extra activities we've been getting up too," he whispered huskily before kissing her ear. Rachel shivered at his touch and turned bright red.

"Maybe you should stop looking so good," she told him cheekily in a whisper, "If I wasn't so hungry, I would take you straight back to the hotel room and we wouldn't leave for a few days."

"Can't resist the Puckerone, can you babe?" he smirked running his hands over his chest and arms, "it's the guns isn't it!"

"Considering I am a Puckerman as well, I'm not sure how to respond to that statement," she laughed at him.

"Babe, you're the fuckin hottest Puckerman I've ever met!" he stated.

They quickly finished their meals and after paying they started walking hand in hand around the city.

"I love this place," Rachel told him, "there is something so special about the city."

"Maybe because it's not a crap hole like Lima," Noah responded, "people are actually doing something with their lives out here."

They continued walking in silence for a while.

"Noah?" Rachel asked, "What do you want to do when you finish school? We haven't talked about it in a while," They had always talked about what they wanted to be when they grew up, but everything seemed childish compared to this now.

"I'm coming to New York with you," he told her, "I thought I might try to get into study sport sciences or something. Maybe I could get into physio."

She stopped suddenly in the middle of the path, "you really think I'll make it here?"

"God yes babe! You're Rachel Puckerman and you're going to be the biggest name to hit Broadway. I'll be there to see each of your new shows."

She leapt into his arms and linked her legs around his waist as he held her up, "thank you for believing in me… and I think sport sciences is a wonderful idea for you." Rachel kissed him soundly. Pulling away he gently lowered her feet to the ground.

"I should be thanking you. If you didn't believe in me, we would not be here today and I would not be thinking about going to college," he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, "let's go back to our room," he whispered huskily.

Rachel smiled and jumped on his back. Noah loved carrying her like this. It reminded him of their childhood days but as she was whispering in his ears while he carried her, he found his legs going weak. They just barely made it back to their room. The second the door shut, she was dropped to the floor and his lips were on hers.

"Ahh, Rach… you're killing me," he growled.

* * *

The pair didn't venture out of their room until after noon on Monday morning… and not for the reasons one might suspect of a couple on their honeymoon. Nope, Noah had been up for hours, choosing to watch TV while his wife refused to get up.

"Rachel, come on! Get up!" he whined in her ear. She groaned and rolled over to face him. He thought he might be getting somewhere with his attempts to get her up but instead she shoved him off the bed.

"Fuck off and let me sleep," she complained. He laughed at her. Noah knew she wasn't angry with him, she just really liked to sleep in when she could- she had been like that for years. And they had been busy for most of the night. Rachel pulled the covers over her head in an attempt to get him to go away.

"I don't know how you make it to school everyday," he joked, pulling the covers back off her head. She looked at him with her sleepy eyes.

"Ten more minutes," she begged.

Her 'ten more minutes' stretched into another hour, but she eventually climbed out of bed and into the shower. When she returned from the bathroom, she was wide awake and ready to go. She also whined about being hungry.

"It's not my fault you decided to spend half the day asleep," he told her jokingly.

"It's our honeymoon, I can be lazy if I want to," she justified as she fixed up her hair and make-up.

"Absolutely babe, I don't disagree," Noah came up behind her and put his hands on her hips, "but let's go see some of this city you love so much before we go to the show tonight."

* * *

They spent the rest of the day sight seeing and shopping around town before returning to their hotel in time for Rachel to spend a really long time getting ready to go see the show. Noah was lying on the bed waiting for her… again. When she finally walked out of the bathroom, his jaw dropped to the floor.

"Holy fuckin shit, Rach! You look amazing!"

"Thank you Noah," she beamed turning around so he could see the whole outfit. She was wearing a short, flowy black dress that stopped about mid-thigh. It had a white satin sash around the middle and a strip of white tulle along the bottom of the under layer. Her legs shone and the heels she wore made them look twice as long.

"You look very handsome too," she reached up to adjust his tie affectionately and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

"We better go if we want to get a bite to eat on the way," he told her taking her hand and pulling her gently out towards the door.

They used their dinner vouchers downstairs in the hotels' restaurant where they continued to receive looks from a number of the older visitors. '_We should get used to this'_ Noah thought. People who didn't know them tended to react negatively when they heard they were engaged… or now married.

"You got a problem?" he yelled angrily to an older couple looking between Rachel's ringed finger and him.

"Noah!" Rachel shrieked at him, "Don't be rude."

"Don't be rude? They are the ones being rude… staring at us like we are animals in a zoo. I'm sick of being judged!" he answered back before turning to the older couple again, "Look I'm sorry but you don't know our story. Yes we are married and yes we are young but I love Rachel. We have known each other since we were 2 and our marriage was arranged… if you have a problem with that, I suggest you either take it up with our parents or keep your mouth shut."

The couple had the decency to look away guiltily before the man mumbled an apology. The rest of the dinner went off without a hitch. Conversation was easy as they talked about their friends back home. Noah was not at all surprised to hear that Jamie had asked her for Santana's number.

"I'm glad our friends all get along, it makes things so much easier," Rachel told him as they were walking into the theater, "… you're going to love this musical!" she told him excitedly.

"I'm not so sure about that babe, Musicals are your thing," he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but this one is about sex!" she told him. His eyes widened slightly and she laughed, "Did you really think Mr Schue would let them buy us tickets to a show you wouldn't like?"

She of course was right. He did enjoy the play. The topic of the show was appealing but what he enjoyed most was the feeling of Rachel curled into his side as she concentrated intensely on the performers. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder with a smile.

They silently made their way back to their room and as soon as the door was shut Rachel pounced on him. She covered his mouth hotly with her own.

"hmmm, you smell really good," she whispered as she kissed his neck.

He laughed into her, "is that your way of telling me I turn you on babe?"

"Shut up and make love to me Noah," she told him breathlessly.

"With pleasure," he ran his hands down her back and cupped her ass. She jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist. She could feel his arousal pressing into her body and smiled. He lay her down gently on the bed and pressed himself on top of her. His hands ran up her thighs and under her dress. While his hands caressed her hips and back his mouth was working on her neck.

Rachel wiggled underneath him in pleasure. The things he made her feel were unbelievable. She reached between them and unbuttoned his shirt, needing to feel his skin under her fingers. He removed her hands from him with a smirk.

A night full of teasing seemed to go by in just minutes for the couple, but it wasn't until the early hours of the next morning that they succumbed to sleep.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear, pulling her up against his chest. Her fingers traced patterns lightly on his chest.

"I love you too," she smiled sleepily before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

_**What did you think? Please review!**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**AN: So this is a shorter chapter than normal but I needed to split this bit from what happens next. I hope you enjoy it either way!**_

_**Elle xox**_

* * *

They thoroughly enjoyed the rest of their honeymoon, spending most of the remaining time inside their room. When they were in the truck on the way home on Thursday morning, Rachel whined, "I don't want to go back."

"I know, we can't exactly partake in all those extra-curricular activities at Ima's house," he wagged his eyebrows suggestively at her. She swatted his chest playfully.

"Noah! That is not what I meant," she cried.

"I know that… but it's true," he pointed out, "we are far too noisy to do that with Ima and Zia in the house."

He nearly ran the car off the road when a minute later she piped up with, "Well then, we are going to have to get creative then aren't we."

When the pulled into the driveway, Noah lent over and kissed her passionately, "Welcome home Squirt," he whispered. They climbed out the car and Rebekah came out to greet them.

"You're home," she called excitedly, grabbing Rachel's arm and leading her inside leaving Noah to bring their bags in.

"Quinn and Santana packed up your clothes and brought them around for you. We decided to leave the unpacking for you too do," she told her new daughter-in-law, "Your dad's and I figured you wouldn't want to go to school tomorrow and so you might like to pack up the rest of your things then."

"Geez Ima! We just got home, give her a break- we've been driving all day and Rachel's tired," he argued with his mom as Rachel yawned.

"I'm sorry, why don't you go take a nap. Ill wake you for dinner," Rebekah suggested to her son and his wife. They nodded and climbed the stairs up too their room. Laying down they were both asleep within minutes.

* * *

Noah woke when he felt the bed shift beneath him. He cracked an eye open expecting to see Rachel climbing out of bed but when he saw her still sleeping, he sat up and met the eyes of his sister sitting at the end of their bed.

"Uh Zia, what are you doing?" he yawned at her.

"Ima said I had to come wake you both. Dinner's in five minutes," she told him not making any effort to move. He kicked her from under the covers, pushing her off the bed gently.

"Okay, tell her we'll be down in a few minutes," after Zia closed the door he looked over at Rachel and gently shook her awake, "Squirt, we have to go down for dinner… preferably before Ima sends Zia up here again."

She blinked at him sleepily before climbing out of the bed and straightened her clothes. They climbed down the stairs quickly and made their way into the kitchen where they stopped abruptly in the doorway. The entire dining room table was covered in neatly wrapped gifts.

"Woah! What's all this?" Noah asked his mom.

"Wedding presents," she replied with a smile, "we brought them home from the reception. You should probably open them tomorrow."

"Oh My God, I can't believe I forgot!" Rachel yelled suddenly and ran back upstairs. Rebekah looked over at Noah and he shrugged his shoulders unsure what Rachel was doing. She returned moments later with two gifts in her hands and handed them to Noah, "these are my wedding presents to you."

Noah opened the gifts while his mom dished out their dinner. The first gift he opened had a DVD inside. The disk was blank except for a title Rachel had written on it. 'Noah and Rachel.'

"We can watch it later," she told him, "open the other one."

He ripped the paper of the gift and gasped when he saw the jersey. He had been chasing one just like this for years but they were hard to come by. She knew him very well.

"but… how…?" he asked her.

"I found it about six months ago, I was saving it for Hanukkah but then all this happened and I thought this was a more fitting time to give it to you," she explained with a smile. He lent over and kissed her soundly.

"Thank you," he whispered. He pulled a velvet box out of his pocket, "this is for you," he told her. Her face lit up with a bright smile and she carefully lifted the lid on the box. Inside was a simple, delicate white gold chain necklace but hanging neatly from the chain were two pendants- an 'R' and an 'N'. Both of the pendants had a small birthstone inside.

"Oh Noah, its beautiful… Thank you!" she perched herself in his lap and kissed him. They were interrupted by Rebekah clearing her throat as she placed the plates down.

"Not at the dinner table you two," she laughed. Rachel blushed and climbed back into her chair. They chatted comfortably about their trip, leaving out the parts they were sure Noah's family didn't want to hear about, and Rebekah and Zia told them about what they had missed around Lima.

After dinner, Rachel excused herself to have a shower leaving Noah and his mom sitting on the couch. She smiled at him brightly.

"I'm so proud of you," she gushed over her son.

"Aw Ima! Don't go all sappy on me… I would have married her eventually anyway," he told her. Rebekah smiled at her son. He always put on a hard face and pretended to be a badass but Rachel was his weakness- he would do absolutely anything for her.

"I know," she smiled, "but I'm still proud of you." Rachel came back down the stairs dressed in her pajamas. Noah had to stop himself from laughing at the sight of her in the short pink shorts covered in music notes and the white singlet top. He had seen her in her night clothes hundreds of times before but it was funny to think she hadn't worn them once since they got married.

She sat down next to him on the couch and he reached his arm around her to rest across her shoulders. They watched TV comfortably for a while before Noah stood and pulled her up.

"I'm gonna watch the DVD in our room… wanna come?" he smiled at her. They clambered up the stairs and sat down on the bed to watch the movie on the small TV in their room. The first images to pop up were of Noah and Rachel separately on the days they were born. Those images faded out and were replaced by text _'Squirt and Stretch- through the years.'_ Several pictures of them as babies- before they knew each other, were played. But what surprised him, was the fact she had mixed still images that she had scanned in with video footage that she must have borrowed off their parents.

He blushed at the footage of him falling asleep in his highchair at about the age of two. Young Noah looked like he was desperately trying to stay awake without success as he fell asleep head first in his bowl. He laughed at the footage of her throwing a tantrum in the backyard of her house.

Eventually the images started to change. There were photos and videos from them at temple, and playdates at each others houses. The images became more recent, them at school, with glee club and his personal favourite, a photo his mom had taken of them asleep on the couch the day she had come over to plan the wedding.

After the last image had faded out, text appeared on the screen.

'_I love you Noah…_

_Love Rachel'_

He turned to look at her 'I love you too babe… That was awesome, thanks." She quickly lent up to kiss him. He changed in silence, switched off the lights and climbed into bed next to her.

* * *

_**What did you think? **_

_**Up next… the other Glee kids are back and our favorite couple catch up on what they have miss in Lima.**_

_**xox**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**AN: Yay an update! I promise to try and get better about updating quicker but if I don't you have permission to bug me until I do because really there is no excuse, I have another 20 or so chapters of this and Picking Up the Pieces already written!**_

_**For those of you who don't have me on Author Alert, you might be interested to know I added a new story today called You Belong Here Now. It's a Pezberry friendship storyline and will stay that way but I am seriously considering also making it Puckleberry romance story.**_

_**Let me know what you think.**_

_**Ellé xx**_

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

'Weddings are awesome' Noah decided. They were sitting in the living room on Friday while Zia was at school and Rebekah was at work, opening the wedding presents. Rachel reminded him that weddings were supposed to be special because you only have one.

On top of the trip they had got from the McKinley group they received tons of other bits and pieces- A new TV from his grandmother, Movie tickets, Dinner vouchers, gift certificates, a few of the traditional appliances and much more. Rachel had agreed they had been spoilt and would have to find homes for all their new gear.

They wrote out what seemed like hundreds of thank you cards and by the time they finished, Noah realized it was nearly three o'clock.

"Hey Rach," he called, "how about we go crash the Glee rehearsal?" he suggested. Not surprisingly, she loved that idea.

She pulled his truck into the car park at school and they walked up to the admin building. As they were only visiting today, they would have to sign in. They had a little trouble at first as Rachel's dads had changed her name over on the school records, so Rachel Berry no longer existed, but she smiled brightly when they handed over her new student ID with the name 'Rachel Puckerman' on it. Noah knocked on the door to the choir room and they walked in quietly.

"Sorry, we're late Mr Schue… Can we join in?" he asked the teacher.

The girls all squealed at seeing the pair walk in and the boys all stood to greet Puck in their normal way.

"How was the honeymoon?" Santana asked with a smirk.

"Good," Rachel replied, "really good- Thank you all so much for the gift. It was lovely."

Mr Schue insisted if they were going to stay they would have to practice along with the rest of the group, "we only have three weeks until sectionals and we can't afford to loose any practice," he told them. They ran through their numbers several times before Mr Schue sat them down to discuss set lists.

"I thought we could do, Don't Stop Believing, Proud Mary and I have a ballad I would like Rachel to try out," he explained. Rachel put up her hand.

"Excuse me Mr Schue," she interrupted, "while I am honored you would like me to do the ballad at Sectionals, I thought Mercedes might like the opportunity."

All eyes in the room turned to face her.

"I am already the lead for the Don't Stop Believing. She and Santana did an amazing job as the leads at our wedding and I think she will be just as fabulous at the competition," Rachel explained, "I have a few ideas of perfect song choices if you need them."

Mercedes stood and walked over to stand in front of Rachel, "Thank you Diva!" she said hugging Rachel tightly.

"Well then," Mr Schue clapped his hands together happily, "if everyone agrees, I would love to hear the suggestions you have for songs, Rachel."

Noah lent over and whispered in her ear, "That was really nice babe, I'm proud of you." When she turned to face him, he kissed her quickly but they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat and pulled away to face the glare of the entire club.

"What?" Puck growled, "Technically we are still on our honeymoon!"

Everyone scoffed realizing they were going to loose this battle.

"Lets just keep the public displays of affection in the classroom to a minimum you two," Mr Schue suggested.

Once practice ended, Noah was pulled in the direction of the other male glee members while Rachel was dragged off to chat with the girls.

"So…" Santana prompted, "give us the details," the others nodded enthusiastically at her, causing Rachel to blush.

"We had a really really good time… Noah was just…" she fumbled for the right word, "amazing! He makes me feel things I have never felt before- I just couldn't get enough of him."

The girls laughed at the wistful look on their friends face.

"Who would have thought… Rachel Berry- a sex kitten!" Quinn laughed making Rachel blush.

"Yeah," Tina agreed, "But it isn't Rachel Berry who is the sex kitten, it's Rachel Puckerman… which just sounds totally surreal."

"Where did you get that necklace Rachel?" Kurt asked, "It's stunning! Are they your birthstones? "

"It was my wedding present from Noah. Yes, they are our birthstones. August for Noah, December for me," she told them all, looking over at the boys and catching her husbands eye. She smiled brightly at him, "it's beautiful, isn't it?"

The others oohed and ahhed their agreement taking a look at the white gold necklace around her neck. The girls were filling her in about all that she had missed while they were in New York. Quinn's parents had found out about the baby and kicked her out. She was now living at Finn's house. Artie had finally asked Tina out and they were now an item. They were gossiping about Santana's budding romance with the couples' old friend when a strong set of arms wrapped around her waist.

"Hey Babe?" Noah asked her.

"What do you want?" she asked him suspiciously.

"How do you know I want something? Maybe I just wanted to say hi," he uttered.

"Oh please, I know you better than that… Like, for example, whenever you start a sentence with the words 'hey babe' or 'squirt,'" she mimicked him drawing out the 'ir' in squirt, "… it usually means you are going to ask something you know I'm probably not going to like."

"Burn!" Mercedes called out with a laugh seeing the look of defeat on Puck's face. The girls all laughed at him.

"Whatever…" he muttered before turning back to Rachel, "I know I said I would go shopping with you tomorrow to get Leah's birthday present but I was hoping it would be okay if I had the guys over for a while…" he explained.

"Oh, is that all?" she had been expecting something bigger, "That's fine Noah, I will ask Eve, Naomi and Sarah to come with me. I don't see them often enough anyway," she told him, "as long as you can still pick me up from dancing at 11," she reminded him. Her car had been left at her dad's place while they were away and her dad's had arranged for it to be serviced.

"Thanks Squirt," he said kissing her cheek and turning to give the boys the thumbs up sign of approval. Rachel rolled her eyes at the immature gesture.

Quinn and Rachel walked out to the car park arm in arm.

"So how are you really going?" Rachel asked her friend once she had her away from the group.

"I'm okay. It's hard. Finn's mom is great and all but she doesn't really know what to say. Even though Brittany and Santana are still my friends, I've lost the Cheerio's, my family… I feel like I have lost everything," the girl admitted.

"Oh Quinn… You have me, Noah and I aren't going anywhere… at least not anytime soon," Rachel hugged the girl, "Why don't you come shopping with my Pilton friends and me tomorrow… A girly day is just what you need."

"Are you sure you don't mind me gate-crashing you're time with your friends?" Quinn asked.

"It's not gate-crashing if you are invited," Rachel smiled, "and I would like you there… just come to our place with Finn at 11.30 and you can come with me."

"Thanks Rachel," Quinn sighed, "You are a really awesome friend."

Rachel climbed into Noah's truck and he drove them to her dad's house for their first 'Friday night dinner.'

"I've known your dad's for years but I have never been this nervous around them before," Noah admitted as he pulled the truck into their driveway. Rachel laughed.

"That's just because you know that they know what we got up to in New York," she chuckled, "don't worry, they trust you… and they wont bring up the fact you took my innocence intentionally."

Noah cringed at the thought of them discussing their sex life with her parents. They had had one awkward conversation about the 'birds and the bees' when he and Rachel had been eleven. Their parents sat them down together and explained all the changes that would happen to their bodies and the process involved in making babies. The pair had been so disgusted they couldn't look at each other for over a week.

"Stop being such a wuss!" she teased, "I live with your mother and she knows what we got up too."

Rachel grabbed his hand and pulled him, somewhat grudgingly, through the door, "Dad! Daddy! We're here!"

"Rachel, sweetie… We missed you," her dad hugged her quickly, "You're daddy even cooked a welcome home dinner." Rachel was impressed. Unless she did the cooking, her family was fully committed to take-out. Not because they couldn't cook, they just ran out of time after long days at work.

"How was your uh… holiday?" Paul asked awkwardly. Noah blushed slightly but Rachel wasn't even phased by the question.

"It was really good. We saw Spring Awakening on Broadway… it was fantastic," she rambled on about the little details of their trip, "… and Noah yelled at an elderly couple in the restaurant about judging us… which, for the record, I disagreed with… It was a really good trip."

After eating and chatting with her parents for a while, Rachel and Noah went upstairs to grab a few of her belongings and said their goodbyes. They weren't planning on completely moving her in until the pool house was ready. Rachel let them in the front door and the walked into the living room to find Rebekah watching TV on the couch.

"How are your dad's?" she asked Rachel who came to sit next to her while Noah went and showered.

"They are good… I don't think it has really hit them yet that I've moved out," Rachel replied.

"Well they are welcome here anytime you are missing them," Rebekah slung an arm around the girl and kissed her temple.

"Ill be fine," Rachel smiled, "It's just around the corner and we go there for dinner every week anyway."

Noah came down the stairs to see his mom and wife in the middle of a serious conversation. He discretely eavesdropped, not wanting to interrupt the special moment. While Rachel had always spent a lot of time at his house and he had asked Rachel if she wanted to move in with them, he had not really considered what she would be giving up. He crept back up a few stairs and came down noisily so they would hear him.

Rachel smiled at him as he sat down next to her. He pulled her feet into his lap and gently rubbed them while they watched TV. When the show finished, she stood and looked at him, "I'm going to bed… I have dancing early tomorrow," she reminded him.

"I know, I'll come with you," he told her as he lent over and kissed his mothers' forehead, "Night Ima."

After brushing her teeth, Rachel climbed into bed next to him and his arm wrapped around her to rest on her stomach.

"Hey squirt?" Noah said softly after a few minutes. She murmured her response back sleepily.

"Thank you for doing all of this… I know it hasn't been easy on you but I promise ill look after you," he whispered. Rachel turned in his arms to face him. She knew he was talking about moving out of home for the first time and she knew he obviously heard her talking to his mom.

"I know you'll look after me Noah and I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't what I wanted… things are just going to be a little harder for a while… while we get used to it," she whispered back and placed a kiss into his chest.

"Just promise me you'll tell me if you aren't coping or something… you know I'm not great at reading peoples emotions," he told her.

"I promise, now stop worrying about me and go to sleep," she ordered.

* * *

_**What did you think? Please review… and don't forget to check out my new story You Belong Here Now as well.**_

_**Ellé xx**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**AN: WooHoo! An update. Hopefully the fact this chapter is twice as long as previous chapters should make up for the fact you had to wait a little longer for it. I've had a few family dramas going on and just haven't had much time to myself. After hearing the update from FanFiction in regards to content and its rating, I have reposted this WITHOUT the adult details. Im sorry for those who wanted to read it and haven't had the opportunity. If you are desperate, PM me and I'll email it to you.**_

_**I realized I hadn't written a disclaimer for a while, so just in case some of you though I won the lottery and brought Glee, I thought I bet clarify that this ISN'T the case… trust me if I did, season 2 would not have ended the way it did.**_

_**Elle xox**_

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

Noah picked Rachel up from dancing only a few minutes late- not bad for him! He had gone to pick her up a grape slushie, knowing she would be thirsty after dance, however there had been a big queue in front of him. Rachel being Rachel, had to whine about how she had so much to do before Quinn arrived and now she was behind schedule. He of course, ignored her until 11.25 when the doorbell rang and she was still yet to get out of her dance clothes. Noah picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, earning him yelps and punches to his back.

Rachel was still struggling to be put down when Noah opened to door to greet Finn and Quinn.

"Hi guys, come on in," he greeted them casually, turning around and walking back into the living room.

"Hi Puck," Quinn returned before smiling at her friend hanging upside down, "… uh, hi Rachel."

Rachel waved briefly before returning to hitting Noah, "Put Me Down!" she yelled at him.

"If I put you down are you going to stop yelling at me and just get on with getting ready?… Geez you would have been ready ages ago if you stopped your screaming and just got on with it," he told her.

"Fine, I'll stop… Now put me down!" she returned. Puck smirked at his friends before letting go of Rachel's legs and letting her fall to the ground with a thud.

"Ahh! You oaf! What did you do that for?" Rachel pushed his chest lightly, "I could have landed on my head and…"

"Nope, you promised to stop whining. Now hurry up…" he chuckled at his joke and smirked at his friends, "sorry Quinn, she won't be long… although this is Rachel … you know what? I'll let the girls know you are going to be late." He added pulling his phone out of his pocket and sending a quick text. _Rachel having a moment… will be late! Noah_

"Oh don't worry… I'm just surprised you got her to shut up!" Quinn grinned, "Do I even want to know what she was angry about?"

"Yes, wife silencing is a talent of mine," he rolled his eyes, "and she is just pissed because I was 2 minutes late to pick her up… she didn't even ask why I was late, so I decided the slushie I brought her, because I know she likes a grape slushie after dancing, could wait… well actually, I drank it, but that's not the point."

Quinn laughed. She would have to tell Rachel that when they were alone.

* * *

By the time Rachel returned downstairs, Artie, Matt and Mike had arrived and the boys were busy playing x-box and Quinn was trying to look interested in the game her boyfriend and his friends were playing but Rachel saw the look of relief on her face when she entered the room.

"Ready to go Quinn?" she asked as she gathered her bag.

"More than ready! I've have seen enough of boys shooting each other to last me a lifetime," Quinn grumbled.

Rachel moved to stand between Noah and his view of the TV and held out her hand, "Can I have the keys, please?" she asked when he yelled about his view being obstructed.

"To the truck?" he questioned.

"Yes to the truck."

Noah handed over the keys but asked her, "why do you need them?"

"Because I still don't have my car and you don't need your truck while you are busy shooting each other on this stupid game and because I want to be _on time!_" she argued. Artie, Matt and Mike looked over at Quinn and Finn with confused looks on their faces. Quinn mouthed a 'don't ask.'

"Fine, just take it easy," he warned her, "I want it back in one piece."

"Noah, I have driven it hundreds of times, what is with your sudden worry?" she said quietly.

He paused their game and turned his full attention to her, "I know you're still angry and I don't want you to get into an accident because of that," he admitted.

"I'm not angry… just a little upset," she clarified, "and I wont have an accident," she kissed the top of his head gently, "I'll see you later, 'kay?"

She and Quinn were almost at the door when she heard him speak up, "love you Squirt." Rachel turned around to see him standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. She walked back up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tippy toes.

"I love you too, Stretch," she kissed him gently.

* * *

The girls drove in silence for a few minutes before Quinn decided it was safe to speak.

"Do you know why he was late to pick you up?" She asked her friend. Rachel shook her head slowly, surprised Noah had spoken to Quinn about it.

"He went to get you a grape slushie because he knows you like them after dancing… the queue was a little long though," Quinn said gently. She didn't want to upset her friend anymore but thought she needed to hear the full story, "he didn't mean to upset you."

"Oh," Rachel whispered, "I overreacted, didn't I?

"Yeah, a bit," Quinn replied honestly, "but you're you and Puck knows that… I'm guessing he just doesn't like seeing you so worked up… The way he was playing around with you when we got there, didn't look like he was really angry."

"Thank you for telling me… We fight all the time but this is the first time since the wedding… I'm not angry with him… I just… can't help but speak what's on my mind sometimes… It's been a long few days, this was bound to happen at some point," Rachel explained. She pulled the car into the carpark at the mall, "I'll talk to him when we get back."

They met up with Eve, Naomi and Sarah at a little café inside the shopping mall. Rachel re-introduced her friends to Quinn and they settled into easy conversation.

"So Quinn, what is Rachel like at McKinley? Noah tells me she has changed a lot since she left us," Eve laughed.

"Uh well we really have only been friends for a few weeks, I uh… used to pick on her quite a bit," Quinn admitted.

"Yes, but you have apologized for that several times and I have accepted your apology just as many times," Rachel reminded her.

"Still, that doesn't excuse us for the way we treated you… but in answer to your question, Rachel is a really good friend, rather… focused," she said searching for the right way to describe her new friend, "I have to admit, it is still rather shocking every time I see her and Puck together… They are completely different people around each other. Before hand we just thought Rachel was this geek and Puck was a badass jock."

"Really?" Sarah said, "It's hard for us to imagine them not together- they were always getting in trouble together when we were younger. Noah used to get these insane ideas and he would drag Rachel along with him…"

Naomi interrupted, "in Noah's defense, Rachel had some insane ideas too!"

"Oh yeah, what about that time she got Noah to rig the PA system to blare music from her musicals at top volume all day… it took the staff hours to find out where they had hooked the computer up!" Eve spoke up.

"…or that time she convinced him to skip school with her to go and get some new CD that she just had to have before everyone else and her parents had said no!" Sarah laughed. Quinn looked shocked to hear the stories of a different Rachel.

"I remember when Rachel…" Naomi started before Rachel cut in.

"Hey! I'm sitting right here!" Rachel argued.

"We know!" her friends all called at the same time. Rachel rolled her eyes and Quinn glared at her.

"Did you really do all of those things?" She asked shocked.

"Uh, yeah…" Rachel hesitated to admit.

"… and more! Whenever something went wrong at school, Rachel and Noah were the first to get the blame! Even if they didn't do it… God, we miss them around there!"

"So now that we all know what you're really like, can we expect a different Rachel at school?" Quinn questioned.

"Ha! I'm not going back to spending every afternoon in detention; we have both grown up since those days," Rachel told her friend, "but now that we don't have to hide our friendship at school, I guess I can act more like myself… Noah would like that anyway."

"Good because I like this Rachel," Quinn admitted before turning back to Rachel's friends, "… now, tell me some more stories."

Rachel glared at her friend.

"What!" Quinn said, "I'm depressed remember… these stories about you and Puck are making me feel better."

Rachel groaned loudly in protest at her friends as they told tales of the mischievous Rachel from her junior years. She had to admit, Noah and her got up to a lot of trouble when they were younger but they had known when to stop. Before McKinley, their pranks never involved physically hurting someone else… annoying, yes, but never hurting anyone. The slushie war had started that.

The girls spent a good couple of hours struggling to find the perfect present for their friend when Quinn came up with the perfect solution.

"uh, I don't know Leah very well at all but what girl wouldn't appreciate a girly day at a spa with her friends?"

The others looked at each other and Rachel flung her arms around Quinn, "Quinn that is the perfect present!"

"Right… now that that is sorted, lets go find you an 'I'm sorry' present to give your husband," Quinn smiled. Seeing the confused looks on her Jewish friends' faces, Rachel explained the small argument that her and Noah had gotten into.

"That totally explains the text message from Noah," Eve laughed.

They had laughed and commented on how they were always clashing over the little things. Everyone made gift suggestions but Rachel had been adamant she knew the perfect gift. The girls obediently followed her through the mall and looked at her strangely when she stopped outside a small grocery store.

"I don't get it," Eve commented but Quinn's eyes widened at the perfect idea.

Rachel quickly purchased the extra large, grape flavored slushie and tossed a bag of sweets on the counter as well. The small group parted ways and Rachel and Quinn headed for Noah's truck.

"You know, I was thinking while your friends were telling me all about you that since we found out about you and Puck, none of us have actually been alone with you when you are together for more than 5 minutes… its always just been the whole glee club," Quinn told her.

"Does that matter?" Rachel turned to look at her quickly before looking back at the road.

"Oh no! Not at all… I just meant, I am sure you and Puck act differently when it's just the two of you and it would be good to get to know those people as well," she explained quickly.

"Okay, I think I understand," Rachel replied, "you think if we were in a smaller group it would be easier to act like ourselves."

"Exactly! Not that you haven't been acting differently since we found out about this but… I just don't want you to think we won't be your friends if you act like yourselves."

"To be honest Quinn, I have been acting a lot like myself, just minus the practical jokes and the getting in trouble side of things… unfortunately, those are the traits I picked up from Noah!"

Quinn laughed at the girls admission as they pulled into the drive back at the Puckerman house. They gathered their things out of the truck and Rachel balanced the slushie in one hand as she unlocked the door with the other. Artie,

Matt and Mike had gone home and Finn and Puck were sitting in the living room playing their game. They looked up as the girls walked in.

"Uh Finn, come help me find something in the kitchen," Quinn said pulling her confused boyfriend out of the room to give the couple some privacy in their own home.

Rachel sat next to her husband and handed him the slushie, "I'm sorry..."

He looked at the drink in front of him and then looked back at Rachel, "Quinn told you?" he asked.

"Yes. I completely overreacted," she admitted.

"Its okay babe, I know you didn't mean it and I was never angry with you… I knew that eventually the stress of the last few weeks would catch up with us. I just hate seeing you so worked up," he wrapped his arms around her and she lifted her legs to rest over his.

"I love you," she told him and he lent down and captured her lips in a solid kiss. They pulled back when Quinn yelled from the other room.

"Is it safe yet?"

"Yes!" "No!" The couple yelled at the same time. Rachel looked pointedly at her husband who relented and called out, "Okay fine, it's safe," before leaning over to kiss her again. Rachel pulled back abruptly as their friends walked into the room and punched Noah's arm quite hard.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for!" he rubbed his arm where it was now throbbing.

Rachel smirked, "For dropping me on the floor. That hurt!"

Quinn and Finn couldn't control their laughter anymore.

"Dude, that totally wasn't cool!" Finn admitted.

"Whatever, it got her to shut-up didn't it!" Noah said gingerly holding his arm but there was a smile on his face as he said it. Puck played with her hair gently as Rachel snuggled into his side happily unaware of the looks they were getting from Quinn and Finn. Puck raised his middle finger at the two of them and sniggered.

Rachel sat up straight. Knowing something had happened, she stared between her husband and their friends.

"What?" Noah asked her, "They were staring!" he indicated to the two teens sitting on the other couch.

"Sorry, we don't mean to stare… but you have to admit this is pretty weird for us," Quinn apologized, "… we have never seen Puck act so affectionately and I never thought we would see the day when Rachel Berry could give Noah Puckerman a run for his money."

Rachel smiled at Noah and ran her hand through the strip of hair on his head, "leave them alone Noah… Everyone at PJC might be used to it but they aren't… they have only known for a few weeks and it's a lot to take in."

"Are you nervous about going back to school on Monday?" Finn asked.

"I guess," Rachel admitted, "I've been trying not to think about it."

"It will be alright, babe," Noah reassured her, although he had his concerns as well, "It's none of their fucking business anyway."

Rachel frowned at his choice of words, "I know but they aren't going to know the full story and there are going to be all sorts of different rumors spreading."

"So we'll tell them the full story if we need too," he suggested. Rachel was still skeptical but nodded her agreement.

Quinn smiled at her friends. Looking at her watch, she realized it was getting late.

"We should go, Finn," she pulled her boyfriend up to his feet. Rachel and Puck walked them to the door.

"Thank you for today Rachel… it was a much needed break," Quinn hugged her friend.

"Anytime," Rachel replied honestly. They watched their friends leave and walked back inside.

"Well babe, we have the house to ourselves for another couple of hours," Noah raised his eyebrows at her, "what do you say we go 'take a nap'?"

She smiled at him, knowing not much napping would actually be going on. Rachel took the hand he offered and let him lead her up to their room.

"I haven't told you today how fucking gorgeous you look," he whispered between kisses as he lay down on top of her. Rachel blushed at his attention. She tugged at the hem of his shirt and they separated for a few seconds as the top was pulled over his head.

Noah collapsed on top of her. Her legs were still wrapped around him as they both tried to regain control of their breathing.

"Fuck Rach! You're amazing," he whispered to her. He went to roll off and out of her but her legs tightened around him holding him there, enjoying the feeling of him being so close.

"Right back at you Noah," she breathed heavily, "do you realize we just had our first fight as a married couple?"

Noah smiled at her and nodded. They lay like that, contently for a while longer before he finally rolled off and out of her. She whimpered at the loss of contact and he smiled over at her.

"Relax babe, I just thought we should have a shower before Ima gets home from work," he tossed her one of his jumpers and she quickly pulled it over her head. It was huge on her but he thought she looked gorgeous, "might be hard to explain to Zia why we are in bed in the middle of the day… and nude!"

Rachel was pulled up and gently dragged across the hall to the shower. Noah turned on the spray for her to step under. He lent back against the towel rack watching her as she lathered her body wash all over her.

"Aren't you going to join me?" she asked him.

"I dunno, I was kinda enjoying the view," he smirked at her. Her eyes widened and she threw a handful of water at him.

"Now you're wet, get in," she laughed at him and pulled him in with her. She smiled as he washed her hair for her. She squeezed his body wash into her hands and set about cleaning him all over. Noah couldn't help but smile at the gesture. He had never been with a girl who he was just happy to spend time with and couldn't believe he hadn't realized how perfect Rachel was earlier.

Having rinsed off, they turned off the water and stepped out. Noah grabbed her towel and dried her off before drying himself. Wrapped in their towels they silently walked back to their room and dressed. Noah climbed downstairs and lay down on the couch with the TV on and his eyes closed. He felt the couch move beneath him and cracked an eye open to see Rachel dressed in a pair of shorts and his t-shirt. He shifted slightly and patted the space between the back of the couch and him inviting her to join him.

When Rebekah returned home from work with Zia in tow, she found her son and his wife sound asleep on the couch in each others arms. Rachel was dressed in her sons' shirt and both of them had wet hair. It was clear what 'activities' they had been up to while they had the house to themselves. Rebekah picked up the throw rug and lightly threw it over the sleeping couple.

* * *

_**Aww, so Puckleberry just had their first fight as a married couple. Not a huge one but I though a little tension was needed at this point.**_

_**Please review, I need some ideas as to where you guys see this going. I have about the next ten or so chapters written already, but I've hit a bit of a brick wall after that and need inspiration. If I choose to use any of your ideas, I will make sure to dedicate the chapter to you.**_

_**Elle xox**_


	19. Chapter 19

_**AN: I am so sorry for the delay. Things are crazy in my family at the moment, and to be honest I've had enough. Now I have the time to write (apart from trying to organize a camp for my class) and I really am not inspired. You guys wouldn't be getting updates at all if I hadn't written so much ahead already.**_

_**Thanks for sticking with me through it all!**_

* * *

Rachel sat in Noah's truck on Monday morning playing nervously with her wedding rings. Neither had said much all morning, knowing nothing they could say would calm each others nerves. As the truck pulled into the carpark he turned to look at her.

"You okay?" He asked. Rachel nodded.

"Maybe, I should just wear my rings on my necklace…" she murmured.

"If that will make you feel better, go ahead. But at some point we are just going to have to ignore them, they will get over it eventually," he comforted her with a hand on her thigh, "I don't care what people think. We shouldn't need to hide this anymore."

Rachel sighed and nodded. She knew he was right but still took her rings off and strung them back around her necklace.

He took her hand as they walked towards the school and lent down to brush his lips over hers. Both were relieved to see their friends waiting for them just inside the building. When the warning bell rang, Puck squeezed her hand to silently wish her good luck as she was pulled away by Santana.

By lunch, Rachel had heard a number of rumors speculating around the school as to why she and Puck had not been at school for a week. Everywhere she went there were stares and whispers but so far nobody had said anything to her face. She had just shut her locker after changing her books when she turned to have cherry flavored slushie thrown in her face.

"Ahh, you jerk!" she angrily shoved Karofsky.

"What are you gonna do freak? Gonna get that boyfriend of yours to have a crack at me? You know he is only with you to get laid, right?" he goaded her loudly. Before she knew what was happening, Karofsky had been shoved harshly back against the lockers by Noah.

"Leave her alone!" he yelled. When Karofsky smirked at him, Noah felt the rage bubble, he drew back his arm and fully intended to throw some hard punches but a hand on his chest stopped him.

"Noah, I appreciate the sentiment but I would rather not have to explain why my husband is locked up for assaulting someone," she said without thinking. Her eyes widened as she heard gasps around the room and she realized what she had said. She quickly turned and ran into the nearest bathroom with Tina close behind her. Puck tightened his grip on the teen.

"That's right you douche, she's my wife. We were on our _honeymoon_ last week, moron! You're just lucky she doesn't want me to knock your fucking brains out. I swear, if you lay another hand on her, I don't care what she says, I will have your fucking head!" He yelled angrily, "That goes for all of you."

With one last shove, he left the crowd of shocked teens and followed Rachel and Tina into the girls' bathroom.

"Baby, you alright?" he asked pushing open the door.

"This is the ladies room Noah," she told him as she washed her face off. Her slushie stained T-shirt was in her hand as she stood infront of the mirror in her bra.

"… You and Tina are the only one in here. Tina is fully clothed and I'm pretty sure I've seen just about everything there is to see from you," he smirked. Rachel scoffed at him, knowing it was true and allowed him to pull her in for a hug.

"Argh! Overshare!" Tina cringed.

"I don't like it when they all say you're only with me for sex," she whispered into his chest, "I'm sorry I told everyone our secret."

"That's okay Rach, I told you I didn't want to hide it anyway and you know this isn't about sex, I love you… now lets get you out of those gross clothes. Have you got a spare set in your locker?" he asked just as the doors to the bathroom pushed open.

"Geez, word spreads quick around here," he muttered as all the remaining Glee girls walked into the room with towels, make-up bags and clothes for Rachel.

"Yup, the McKinley High gossip tree is in full swing… we heard what happened and got Finn to break into your locker for us," Quinn explained.

"Are you both alright?" Mercedes asked them.

"Yeah, we're fine… just not how I expected everyone to find out," Rachel running her slushie covered shirt under the water. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a form fitting t-shirt. Noah shrugged his jacket off and helped her slip her arms into the holes. The girls helped her touch up her make-up. When she was finished getting changed, she un-clasped her necklace, slid the rings off and returned them to their place on her left hand.

Noah grabbed her hand and took a deep breath, "you ready for this?"

"as I'll ever be… it will be fine," she reassured them both. He pulled her gently out of the bathroom and they bravely made their way through the halls to Rachel's locker. They could feel everyone's eyes on them and they could hear the whispers as everyone stared at their matching wedding bands.

By the end of the school day, most of the student population had heard about the Berry-Puckerman nuptials. Rachel had been approached by a few people asking her when she was due. It seemed the most recent rumor about the couple was that they had a hurried wedding because Rachel was pregnant.

When Rachel walked into the half full choir room that afternoon, she sat herself down in Noah's lap with a sigh. He wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and Rachel lent back against him and rested her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed. Both were aware of the others watching them but were too wrapped up in their own conversation to worry about it.

"Tough afternoon?" He whispered in her ear.

Rachel groaned, "Please tell me you have heard all the rumors…"

"Hmm… You pregnant, Squirt?" he laughed, poking her stomach playfully.

"Trust me Stretch, if I was pregnant, you would be the first to hear… not the entire McKinley population," she smiled.

"Good to know," He pulled her tighter against him while they waited for the last glee members to arrive. They all smiled sympathetically at the exhausted pair.

"Mr Schue, before we start, I have something I want to say," he stood and faced the group, "I love being the lead in New Directions but Quinn and I have a baby on the way and if we decide to keep her, it is going to take up a lot of our time. I don't want to quit glee but I can't be the lead anymore… I just wouldn't be able to do the job as well as someone else could... plus, I kinda feel awkward singing love songs with a married girl," he joked.

Everyone was silent for a few minutes as they processed what Finn had just shared. Finally, Rachel stood from her spot in her husbands lap.

"It's okay Finn, we all understand… it is a very noble thing you are doing," she reassured him.

"I'm not really sure what noble means but thanks… I think," Finn replied, rather confused, "Are you going to be able to find another lead before Sectionals?"

"I think we might already have one, if he is up for the challenge…" Mr Schue turned to look at Puck whose eyes widened when he realized what the man was suggesting. Rachel elbowed him in the side from her seat next to him. He looked at her and saw her glaring at him to answer. He thought it over for a brief moment. He knew Rachel would love him to do it but he also knew she would understand if he said no. The couple looked each other right in the eye and Noah knew how happy this would make her.

"Okay, I'll give it a go… no promises though, this whole singing deal is Rachel's thing, not mine… she is the one with all the training, not me," he told them.

"You have an amazing voice, Stretch," Rachel reassured him, "I might be a little biased but I think you have more than enough talent to pull this off," He smiled brightly at her confidence in him and lent over to quickly peck her on the lips, earning a round of whoops from their classmates.

"Well now that that is sorted, lets run through Don't Stop with Puck as the lead," the teacher clapped his hands. Noah found the lead harder work but much more rewarding, especially when Rachel kept throwing glances and smiles in his direction or ground up against him as they danced together. By the end of the rehearsal, he was incredibly turned on just from the looks she was giving him and judging by the grin on her face, she knew it.

When their teacher dismissed them, he quickly gathered their things and pulled Rachel outside. Still clasping her hand, he dumped their bags onto the backseat and pushed her up against the side of the car. Her arms instantly wrapped around his neck as he whispered in her ear, "do you know what you were doing to me in there?" he chuckled. Rachel nodded and his lips quickly claimed hers. They broke away to the sound of someone calling their names.

"Puck. Mrs Puck… save it for when you are at home. You aren't doing anything to quell those rumors," Kurt laughed. Rachel released her hold on his neck but his hands remained firmly clasped on her hips. She smiled at her friends reference to her as 'Mrs Puck.'

"Mercedes and I were wondering if you two wanted to join us for dinner tonight. Her mom gave her dinner vouchers at Breadsticks for her birthday and she wants to say thank you to you, Rachel, for handing over a solo ," Kurt explained.

Puck was just about to say 'hell no' when Rachel jumped in to say they would love to accompany the pair. He gave her a little pout and discretely pushed his erection into her side so she would understand what he was trying to say.

"We would love to come Kurt, but we have a few errands to run at home first… is it okay if we meet you there in say a couple of hours?" Rachel compromised.

"Perfect, we want to go to the mall first anyway," he beamed before looking between the pair, "don't be late!" he laughed.

Rachel climbed into the truck.

"That was just mean, babe!" Noah whined as he pulled the car out of the carpark, "Why do you want to go to dinner with them so desperately anyway?"

"Just something Quinn said about us not really being ourselves and how we shouldn't hide it any longer. Don't worry, Noah," she smirked, "an hour leaves us plenty of time sort out your… problem." She reached over and ran her hand down the front of his jeans.

"Fuck Rach! Don't play games. I'm going to crash if you keep this up."

When he opened the door to their house, Rachel pulled him straight up the stairs and into their bedroom. Thanking god their family weren't home!

A while later they were lying next to each on their bed. Rachel had her computer resting in her lap and was chatting with her friends from their old school.

"What did you mean earlier when you said Quinn said something about us not being ourselves?" Noah asked her.

"Quinn mentioned the other day that we act differently to the stories they have heard from the PJC group… I know we have grown up since then but she is right," Rachel shut her computer to look at him, "I don't miss getting in trouble but I do miss how layback we were… I don't want to be the 'Broadway Geek' at school anymore."

"So you want to act more like ourselves than we have been?" he asked. Receiving a nod from Rachel he smirked, "okay… what did you have in mind then?" he added, knowing she had an idea brewing.

"… so I was thinking, Ms Sylvester needs to be taken down a notch or two. What if we called her and pretended to be a secret admirer. We could tell her to be at Breadsticks tonight and we could watch it all unfold," Rachel smirked.

"Hmm," he kissed her gently, "this is the Rachel I know and love… you get her number I'll get the phone.

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_**Please review =) I need all the help I can get at the moment.**_


	20. Chapter 20

_**Disclaimer: I haven't written this in a while so just a reminder that I don't own Glee or it's characters… if I did, it would have been very different.**_

_**Firstly, I've made some decisions. I have a lot going on in my life right now that is keeping me from updating when I plan too, so I've decided to make the chapters I post longer (if possible) to make up for the wait and I'm also thinking of asking someone to be my assistant (of sorts) kind of like a Beta to just check up on what I've done, remind me to post and just generally help me out with my stories.**_

_**Secondly, just a bit of warning that I am taking my class on camp for a while (Yay for me…?) so for obvious reasons won't be able to update. However, if I am organized enough may be able to get someone to update for me.**_

* * *

Rachel and Noah walked hand in hand into the restaurant and made their way straight to the table where Mercedes and Kurt where waiting. They both glanced around to see the cheerleading coach waiting patiently at a table a couple of rows back. Rachel and Noah looked at each other and smiled.

"Do we want to know what you're grinning at?" Mercedes asked.

"Shh," Rachel hushed, "keep quiet or you will ruin the plan!" She peeked her head over the back of the booth and ducked down so as not to be seen.

"Okaaaay. Puck, why is she acting like a spy?" Kurt asked confused.

"Oh she does this all the time," Noah laughed, "but because you are going to be here to witness the damage, I suppose we should let you in on our plan. We called Coach Sylvester this afternoon, pretended to be a secret admirer and invited her to dinner… soon enough we will be here to witness her getting stood up!"

"Oh my god! That is brilliant!" Mercedes held out her hand to bump fists with Puck.

"Thanks, but it wasn't my idea… it was Rachel's… I just made the phone call," he smiled.

Mercedes and Kurt's mouths dropped open at the pair, "Seriously? Rachel! I thought when you guys said you had errands to run that you were going to get up to other… activities… not organize a prank."

"We did that too," Noah said with a smug look on his face that made Rachel elbow him roughly in the ribs, "Ow! Don't look now but the waiter is going to ask her to order again!"

Rachel turned and looked over at the table while Kurt and Mercedes just looked past the pair.

"I said don't look!" Puck whispered forcefully, "Babe! Seriously! You are going to get us caught again."

"Hold up!" Mercedes laughed, "You mean you have done this before?"

Rachel and Noah nodded sheepishly, "not this exact same thing but we did set up a teacher from Pilton… _Rachel_ got us caught that time though because she couldn't stop watching," Noah grabbed Rachel's shoulders and turned her around so she was facing the table again giving her a warning look before he handed her a menu.

She didn't turn around again until the coach stood and angrily stormed from the restaurant leaving a shocked waiter standing terrified by the table. As soon as the door closed the group of teens burst out laughing.

"You two are too good! I can't believe you did that!" Kurt laughed.

"I thought she needed to be taken down a couple of pegs for the way she treats everyone at school, particularly Quinn… embarrassing her publicly seemed like the best way to do that," Rachel shrugged her shoulders as their meals were placed on the table in front of them.

"It appears we don't know you as well as we thought we did!" Kurt said as he watched Rachel and Puck silently swapped items between their plates. Rachel took half his fries and he took some of her salad. Their friends stared at the interaction.

"What?" Noah said, taking a bite of his burger.

"Nothing," Kurt said throwing his hands up defensively, "it's just odd seeing you two have a full conversation without saying a single word."

"Well, we have known each other for a long time," Rachel explained, "and we always order different sides so we can share." She said taking a sip of Noah's drink.

"Uh… Gag!" Mercedes joked. The group dropped into casual conversation. Kurt and Mercedes were interested in hearing about PJC's Glee club and Rachel was all too happy to share.

"Thank you for asking Mr Schue to give me the solo for sectionals," Mercedes said sincerely, "I really appreciate being given the opportunity to showcase what I can do."

"It's no problem," Rachel smiled, "like I told Mr Schuester, I am the lead for the other numbers… it only seemed fair to let you have the ballad."

"Still… I appreciate it. I know it's something you don't do very often."

Rachel looked over at her husband who was nudging her side. He gave her a pointed look, silently telling her to be honest. Rachel sighed before turning back to her friends.

"You're right… it's not something I have been doing very often," she started, "Let me explain a few things… When we were at PJC the atmosphere at the school was completely different compared to McKinley. People in Glee club weren't just nobodies. People fought to get into the performing arts…"

"I think what Rachel is trying to say is that people in Glee club at Pilton, are popular," Noah interrupted, "she was popular."

"Well we figured that you guys were the top of the social food chain there when we met your old friends," Kurt replied with a laugh, "but I still don't see how that is relevant to you handing over a solo."

"When I came to McKinley and Noah and I came up with our agreement to keep school and home life separate, I had nothing at school… despite the fact my best friend was there, I had no friends and no social life. I was just the school music geek," Rachel started to explain, "and then Mr Schue put up the signs asking people to audition for Glee. I thought it was finally my chance to make some new friends. Like you, I tried out and got in, but when we got to the choir room on that first day, everyone else had a friend in the club already and I still had no one…" she struggled to explain what she was feeling, "… I needed those solos to get me through the day… I had _nothing_ else going for me and I was desperately lonely and missing everything about my old school. There I had Noah and all our friends and at McKinley, I _only_ had music."

Noah's arm reached around her shoulders and she paused for a second to look at him, "since Noah and I told you about our past and we haven't had to hide at school anymore, I have other things there now… Whilst music is still my life, I have other things that get me through the day now. I want to be more like myself."

Kurt and Mercedes sat in silence as they listened to Rachel speak. There was so much more to her than they had realized and they suddenly felt very bad for not offering up their friendship earlier. They heard Rachel sniffle and quickly excuse herself from the table to go outside.

"Should one of us go after her?" Kurt quietly asked Puck after a moment.

"Give her a few minutes… if she isn't back soon, I'll go check on her," he replied, "You understand why she is the way she is now, right?"

The pair nodded slowly, "she really wasn't coping as well at school as she made out she was… was she? I mean, she said that it wasn't all bad and that you didn't ignore her at school but…"

"She uh… used to come home crying at first, practically begging her dad's to let her go back to Pilton. But eventually we settled into a routine. After all the crap that went on at school, we used to go home and think of ways we would get people back for all the shit they gave her," he laughed a little, "in fact, a few of the ideas were put into play… dumpster diving was totally Rachel's idea."

"You mean, you used to throw me into dumpsters… for Rachel? Because I was mean to her?" Kurt gasped, "I always thought it was just because I was gay!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that… I was just sticking up for my girl the only way I could at school…" Puck replied sheepishly, "… and I have two gay father-in-laws. I couldn't give a shit about your sexuality."

"I guess I hadn't thought of that," Kurt admitted, "I mean, I knew her dad's were gay but…"

"I'm gonna go check on her."

Puck climbed out of the booth leaving the shocked pair sitting in silence. He found Rachel outside sitting on a bench, looking at the stars, "You okay babe?"

"I'm fine… I just figured you would need to explain a few things. Are they okay?" she whispered.

"A little shocked, but they'll live. They understand… I'm so proud of you," he smiled brightly at her and kissed her forehead, "You ready to come back in?" he held out his hand to help her up.

"Yeah," she smiled and hugged him, "Thanks for being so great."

Rachel walked back to the table with her arm around Noah's waist. Before she slid back into the booth, she lent up on her toes and kissed him, "I love you."

"I love you too Rach," he slid into his seat next to her and smiled at their friends.

"Rachel we are so sorry… we didn't realize how hard everything was for you," Mercedes apologized.

"It's okay, you couldn't have known… but now you do."

The group fell back into silence as they all thought about the new information.

"Well… this conversation is getting far too girly for my liking," Noah said, breaking the tension with a goofy smile, "I hope your planning on buying me dessert, babe, I've been good" he turned to Rachel and winked at her, "… or at least rewarding me in another way… like say, when we are home alone."

Rachel blushed at his obvious suggestion in front of their friends. She rolled her eyes playfully, "You're disgusting."

"Well, can I at least touch your boobs?" he smirked, sneaking an arm around her shoulders and sliding his hand down to get some side boob action.

"Noah!" she shrieked and slapped his hand away.

Kurt spat his soda back into his glass when he realized what was going on, "for my sake, please wait until you get home."

They laughed as Puck sulked, but managed to keep his hands to himself for the rest of dinner.

* * *

As expected, the school was still a buzz of rumors about the pair the next day at school. Puck and Rachel did their best to ignore everyone. Noah quickly kissed Rachel goodbye at her locker before heading off to the changing room to get ready for football. He was quietly chatting with Finn, Matt and Mike when the other jocks entered the room and surrounded them.

"What the hell is going on Puckerman… you married the freak girl?" one of them called.

"She isn't a freak," Puck seethed, "you don't know her."

"Come on man! You have to see this from our point of view… a month ago, you were tormenting and throwing slushies at her along with us. Now all of a sudden, your _married_ to her… we just wanna know what's going on. You knock her up or something?" Karofsky asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but for the record, Rachel is _not_ pregnant," Puck sighed, "I want it to be known that I am telling you this _only_ because I want you to leave her alone," he made it very clear, "Rachel has been my best friend for as long as I can remember… our parents are friends and we used to go to the same Jewish school. She is NOT the 'freak' we used to pick on really. That is just some show we came up with when she came here so that we could stay in our own social circles… and keep our secret" he explained, "half the shit I do around here is her idea; the dumpster diving, patriotic wedgies… she came up with it all. Not me… it was just my way of checking up on her during the day."

Jaws dropped around the room from all the jocks learning this for the first time.

"Trust me… she can give Puck a run for his money," Finn called from his spot beside Noah, "you shoulda heard her on the weekend."

Puck shot his friend a glare, "Not Helping! I appreciate the back up… but I can handle this"

"Okay, so maybe Berry's not that bad," Chris, a hockey player admitted, "It still doesn't explain why you married her… I mean, dude, you're seventeen!"

"We're Jewish. We had an arranged marriage," Puck told them, "but I would have married her anyway. I love her," he smiled gently at the thought, "my Gran is really sick and she is the one who set up the arrangement. We weren't going to do anything about it until after high school but when she was put in hospital, our parents asked if we would do it earlier."

He stared at the stunned mob in front of him, "now you know the full story… just, leave her alone. We have enough shit to think about without you lot being morons," he slammed his locker door shut and left the room sitting in silence.

"Fuck… he is serious about Berry isn't he?" someone broke the silence.

The three remaining glee clubbers nodded.

"I wouldn't call her Berry anymore… she is a Puckerman now, and proud of it," Finn told the group, "it probably wouldn't hurt if you apologized to them both either."

* * *

Rachel knew something had happened before school. By the time morning break had come and she was walking through the halls, several footballers had smiled and waved at her. She was thrown by there unusual behavior. Just yesterday they had had a confrontation in the school hallway. She was confused when she sat down next to Noah and pulled out an apple.

"Are people acting weird around here… or is it just me?" she asked him, "people keep smiling and waving at me. It's very unnerving."

"I don't think you need to worry about it," Mike informed her. She looked between the group and noticed the looks on their faces.

"What is going on?" she demanded, "What did you do?"

"I told everyone in the locker room our story… they won't be bothering you again," Noah looked at her.

"I certainly hope you didn't use your fists in your explanation," she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I didn't… I swear. You can check my hands," he held them out for her to see that there were no cuts or bruises.

"It's okay Noah. I believe you…" she whispered into his neck, "thank you."

Their moment was interrupted by the arrival of a large group of boys from a number of the schools sports teams. Rachel tensed from her spot between Santana and Puck as she looked up at the crowd.

"Can we help you?" she snipped at them.

Dave Karofsky, the head of the group, shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, "here," he said, handing her a bunch of flowers and a slushie, "we just wanted to say congratulations and that we are really sorry… Puck says you're a really cool person and we should have let you show us that… these seemed like an appropriate gift."

"Uh thanks," Rachel said slowly, she couldn't believe what was happening, "I appreciate the apology. The flowers are lovely and grape is my favorite."

"Mine too!" Puck said from his spot next to her, taking a long slurp of the drink.

"Hey! No it isn't!" she yelled, stealing the drink back from him. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. His lips quickly covered hers in a kiss.

"hmm," he said as he pulled back, "you're right, _Berry_ is still my favorite flavor."

Everyone watching them, laughed loudly.

The rest of the school wasn't sure what happened, but suddenly Rachel's social status sky rocketed up to the top and with her improved popularity, the glee clubs status improved as well. By the end of the day, Rachel had jocks and cheerios talking to her casually. For the first time since moving to McKinley, Rachel left school with a huge smile on her face. People weren't dismissing her just because she was Rachel Berry anymore. They respected her because she was Rachel Puckerman and wasn't afraid to show it.

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_**Please read and review… I love reading them and where I can, responding to readers questions and comments. They really do make a writer's day when it's been particularly stressful. I promise to make the next chapter longer.  
**_


	21. Chapter 21

_**Hi! Sorry about the delay, no excuses I've just been busy. I'll keep this short so you can get to the good bits. I'm moving (once again) in a couple of weeks but I'm told that this will be the last time (Yay!). I'm not 100% sure where I want to go with this story. I've written more but I don't like all of it… so I thought I'd put it to you lot. What do you want to see happen?**_

_**Elle xox**_

* * *

Rachel and Noah only had 3 of their classes together but they learnt quickly that these small periods of time were perfect for masterminding their practical joke plans- especially when they had a substitute teacher. When they walked into their history class on Friday to see that Mrs Tonkin was away and a younger replacement was in, they looked at each other and smirked. Their peers had started to get to know the real Rachel; the girl who wasn't afraid to dish up as much as she was given.

The teacher, who introduced herself as Miss Saunders and informed the class she would be their substitute for the next two weeks, checked off student attendance. Rachel was still getting used to being at the end of the class lists rather than the beginning. Miss Saunders asked all students to raise their hands when their name was called so she could try to remember their names. She stopped after she read both the 'Puckerman' kids.

"Oh twins!" she said to the pair with a bright grin, "I must say, you look nothing alike!"

Everyone in the room chuckled at the teacher's mistake. They knew this was going to be fun.

"No, we don't," Puck smirked and threw his arm around Rachel and tugged her towards him. Rachel looked at him and he took the opportunity to capture her lips in a heated kiss.

"Oh!" the teacher gasped, "I… um…" she wasn't sure how to respond to what she had just witnessed. What kind of brother kisses their sister like that?

The room erupted into a fit of laughter and the young teacher frowned in confusion.

"Relax Miss S… we aren't twins!" Rachel told her sweetly, knowing that wouldn't be enough information for the woman.

"… but you are related?" the woman hinted for more.

Rachel's face furrowed in thought, "Yeah… sort of."

This comment only confused the woman further. Why should Rachel's answer make her relax? The woman tried to get on with the rest of the class but her eyes kept wandering back to the couple sitting together, absentmindedly playing with each others fingers while they worked.

She was summing up the class when Noah reached over and gave Rachel another peck on the lips, stopping the teacher again. By now, the entire class was laughing. Rachel was pretty sure she saw tears in Kurt's eyes as he gasped for breath. Rachel put the woman out of her misery. She raised her left hand, letting her wedding and engagement rings capture the light.

"He's my husband," she laughed.

"Aww Babe! We could have had so much fun with that!" Noah whined about her revealing their relationship.

"Oh," Miss Saunders replied, slightly more relieved about what she was seeing. Still, she thought, its not often two of your teenage students told you they were married, "and how long have you been… uh…"

"Married?" Rachel supplied for the woman who nodded, "two weeks tomorrow." She was purposely not handing over the information the woman wanted to hear. It was just too much fun. The rest of the lesson went by in a daze. The poor teacher couldn't keep her eyes of the unlikely couple.

When the signal rang for lunch, the new teacher made her way to the staff room and put her head on the desk.

"Rough day?" Will Schuester asked her as he and Emma sat down.

She nodded quickly, "I just witnessed the most bizarre thing between two students. I was calling attendance and noticed two of the kids had the same surname. Naturally I assumed they were twins. You can imagine my shock when the boy suddenly started tonguing the girl right in front of me."

Will and Emma burst out laughing.

"I'm guessing you just taught Noah and Rachel… the Puckerman's?" Will asked sympathetically. The teacher just nodded so Will continued, "Yeah, they can be like that, particularly Puck, Noah… Rachel seems to just follow his lead. I'm their faculty advisor. They are in Glee club with me… they did tell you they are married though, right?" He had been in several meetings over the last few days with Rachel and Puck's teachers. Their teachers were rather confused as to why Rachel suddenly had Puck's surname and it turns out the couple were causing quite a bit of mischief with the confusion.

"Only after they puzzled me completely!" the woman gasped, "they must only be sixteen or seventeen!"

"They are Jewish. Their marriage was arranged but they have known each other for years and are best friends… All of this is pretty new for us too, up until a few weeks ago, we were under the impression they were worst enemies… he was the jock, she was the geek… turns out, that was all a show to hide their friendship from us," Will explained, "but either way… they love each other, that much is obvious."

The young teacher nodded to show she understood.

"I'll talk to them," he assured her, "and ask them to lay off the jokes… it might work on Rachel, but probably not on Puck. He is pretty much like this all the time."

"Oh I don't know Will. The pair love you… I mean, you were the MC at their wedding. They rarely mess up for you," Emma chuckled, "and the stories I've heard lately have involved Rachel being the mastermind behind half their games. I'm almost positive the 'good girl' image she has being giving over the past few years is a complete act."

"I don't doubt it, but you can reason with Rachel, she knows where the line is… Puck on the other hand only stops if Rachel makes him… he'd do anything for her."

The new teacher looked horrified, "no offense, but you two aren't making me feel any better about teaching the pair!"

"You'll be fine," Will reassured her, "Just don't let their jokes get to you because Puck will run with it. If you laugh with them, he will probably tone it down."

* * *

Mr Schuester walked into glee that afternoon to see the entire club chatting away happily and laughing about the way the Puckerman's had been confusing teachers all week.

"Puck, Rachel, can I talk to you outside for a minute," he called. Puck and Rachel quickly obeyed, "so I hear you two have been tormenting half the staff," he said with a small smile.

Puck smirked but Rachel looked guilty.

"Look guys, I have no doubt that this is lots of fun for you and I'll be the first to admit, it's kind of amusing… but you need to lay off a bit in class. Particularly with substitute teachers," he gave Puck a knowing look.

"We're sorry Mr Schue. I guess we got a little carried away," Rachel apologized sincerely while Noah just sulked, "We will apologize to Miss Saunders when we have her next."

"Fine… everyone pretty much knows by now anyway," Puck grumbled.

* * *

The Berry's were over for dinner that Saturday after spending the day helping the couple get the pool house in order. They had gone threw the many boxes that cluttered the large room and moved anything that needed to be kept to the garage. By the time the weekend was over, all that needed to be done was put a fresh coat of paint on the walls and buy some new furniture.

Between school, glee, homework and getting their new place ready, Rachel and Noah had very little time to themselves. Zia had walked in on them twice now, while they were enjoying the few minutes of alone time. She hadn't walked in on anything inappropriate but it was enough for the young couple to wish their re-decorating would go quicker. So when their new house was finally ready to be moved into, they were looking forward to getting it over and done with.

Rebekah Puckerman answered the door early on Saturday morning, surprised to find Noah and Rachel's friends from glee waiting for them.

"Hi Guys, what are you doing here?" she asked the teens politely. She couldn't remember either of the couple telling her the group was coming over.

"Morning Mrs P… Puck mentioned that he and Rachel were moving all their things into the pool house today so we thought we would come and give them a hand since we know most of Rachel's stuff is still at her dad's house," Finn explained to the woman.

"Oh that's a lovely idea," Rebekah replied, stepping aside to allow the mob of teens to come inside, "as far as I know, they are still asleep… why don't you go wake them up so you can get started."

The group, minus Artie and Tina, tip-toed upstairs to the couple's room. Finn knocked gently and upon receiving no answer pushed the door open. They had expected to see the pair asleep, so they were shocked when their eyes landed on the couple making out passionately on the bed. Luckily, they were both clothed; Rachel had her pajamas on still and Noah was wearing a pair of flannelette pants but was bare chested. Rachel's legs were locked around his waist as he lay on top of her and her hands roamed his chest and back. Noah had one hand in her hair holding her close and the other under her shirt sneaking up to massage her breasts.

"Whoops!" Finn apologized, quickly shutting the door again with a laugh. The couple on the bed sprung apart at being walked in on, yet again and Noah got up to check whether that really happened. He pulled open his bedroom door to find his embarrassed friends.

"What the hell, dudes?" he cried, "What are you doing here?"

"We are here to help you move," Santana explained, looking past Puck to see a blushing Rachel pull a sweater on and join Noah at the doorway.

"We did knock!" Finn yelped defensively, "We didn't get an answer so we assumed you were asleep like your mom said."

"Yeah well… we were kinda busy," Noah muttered, "… didn't hear you."

"Apparently," Quinn laughed, "We'll wait for you down stairs." The group left the pair to get dressed in peace.

"Thank fuck we are moving into the pool house today," Noah whispered into the back of Rachel's neck, "I fucking miss you."

Rachel chuckled slightly and turned in his arms, "I miss you too Noah, but they aren't going to go away now," she sighed as he ran more kisses down her neck, "the quicker we get them working for us, the quicker they will be out of here and we can spend the rest of the evening together… away from your family and other interrupting guests."

They quickly got dressed and headed downstairs to find the rest of the glee club smirking at them. Rachel blushed and left to make them breakfast, leaving Noah to entertain their guests.

"Can't even have five fucking minutes alone with my wife in this place," he muttered as he sat down on the couch, "first Zia, now you lot..."

"Sorry dude," Finn patted him on the back sympathetically, "We'll help you get moved in then we promise to leave you alone for the rest of the weekend."

Rachel came back into the room with toast in her hand and Noah pulled her into his lap by a belt loop on her shorts. She started munching on one piece while Noah took another out of her hand for himself. They chatted about the plan for the day while the pair ate. After washing up, they separated. The girls climbed into a number of cars and headed over to the Berry household to pack up Rachel's things while the boys started carting gear from Puck's room. By lunch time, all their belongings were piled into the pool house, ready for sorting and their new bed had been put together.

Seeing the couple were going to kill them if they stayed much longer, Santana ushered all the guests out of the house, yelling, "have fun and be safe!" over her shoulder as she pulled the door shut. Rachel made their bed, very aware that her husband was watching her every move. The second she put the last pillow case on, he grabbed her by the waist and hauled her outside.

"Noah!" she shrieked, "what are you doing?" He put her down on the grass by their door for a second before picking her up again bridal style. Rachel laughed, realizing what he was doing.

"You've already done this Noah, put me down before you hurt your back," she told him.

"Please, you weigh next to nothing. I'm not going to hurt my back… and I did this when we came home to mom's house… this is _our_ first house, well sort of… either way, I have to do it again," he said, locking the door behind them, placing her gently on the bed and climbing on top of her.

"Just so you know, Babe," he whispered as he kissed her ear, "I'm not stopping for any interruptions this time."

"I wouldn't want you to stop anyway," she captured his lips hungrily, moaning as his hands found their way under her shirt and were lightly tracing patterns on her back and stomach, "what do you say we give our new bed it's first work out?" Noah gave a throaty groan as he felt her hands tug at the hem of his shirt and pull it over his head.

They were lying on the bed, legs entwined and sheets a mess a while later. Noah's hand was rubbing circles on Rachel's bare back as he was looking around their new room. He gave a content sigh and pulled Rachel closer, "One day Squirt, I'll have a decent job and we will be able to afford a great place in New York… I'll be able to give you what you deserve."

Rachel shifted slightly to look at him, "You do just fine, Noah… I don't need all the little things. I have you and we have somewhere to sleep and eat. That's fine by me."

The pair spent the rest of the day locked away, watching TV and enjoying each others company without interruptions. Late in the afternoon, early evening, there was a knock at their door. Noah pulled on his jeans and crossed the room to answer it. He pulled the door open slightly to find Zia. He stepped outside and shut the door so she wouldn't see Rachel laying on the bed and start asking questions.

"Ima wants to know if you guys are coming over for dinner tonight or if she should send over food," the little girl smiled obliviously.

"Uh, Rachel is asleep… I'll come over and get something to bring back," he replied, following his sister over to the main house. His mom was busy cooking in the kitchen.

"Ahh! He _is_ alive!" she said sarcastically as she stirred the chicken on the stove, "I figured you would want to stay in your room tonight," she smiled at him.

"Rachel is… uh, sleeping," he told her.

She silently dished up two plates. She handed over the plates, cutlery and a stack of napkins, "Just be safe, my Noah."

Puck blushed slightly. It was one thing to know that his mother knew what he and his wife were doing, but a completely different and awkward thing to have her talk about it. He quickly thanked his mom, grabbed a punnet of strawberries from the fridge for dessert and carried everything back to his house. When he walked in the door, Rachel was sitting on the bed dressed in one of his shirts, waiting for him.

"Ima made us dinner," he smiled as handed her a plate and sat on the bed next to her. They sat in comfortable silence watching their favorite show, How I Met Your Mother. Once dinner plates were empty and rinsed off in the sink, Rachel grabbed a strawberry and popped it in her mouth. He quickly lent over and claimed her mouth, savoring the berry flavors that invaded the kiss.

"hmmm, yum," he smirked, took another berry and held it out for her. She lent forward, taking not only the berry in her mouth, but his fingers as well. They went on teasing each other for a while longer before Noah attacked her hungrily and she let him.

* * *

_**Please read and review. I am going to force myself to update sooner!**_


	22. Chapter 22

_**AN: A shortish chapter to tie you over. I have avoided posting this for a while for a few reasons. I needed to talk myself into it again. I started writing this story way back in the first season and the idea was that it would follow with the show. Obviously, for varying reasons, that didn't happen. So far, Quinn is still pregnant, but the baby is Finn's and as you'll see in this chapter, other events from season one happen. So I've made a decision… I'm not going to re-write what I had already written but it's also not necessarily going to follow the show's story line anymore- I'd rather write my own.**_

_**Thanks for reading =)**_

* * *

Rachel and Noah walked hand in hand over to the main house for breakfast on Sunday morning. Rebekah tried not to laugh at the sight of Rachel trying to hide the numerous hickeys on her neck as she poured herself and Noah cups of coffee.

"What have you two got planned for today? Are you going out?" Rebekah asked, not sure if she really wanted to hear their answer.

"We thought we might go and visit Savta again today," Noah said quietly. His grandmother was not doing so well now. She was too weak to get out of bed and her liver was giving out on her.

"She'll love that," Rebekah flashed them a sad smile. The young couple finished their breakfast, got themselves organized and made their way to the hospital. As Hannah's condition was more serious now, she was only allowed immediate family to visit and they were required to sign in at the nurses' station.

"Hi," Noah smiled at the nurse manning the desk, "We are Rachel and Noah Puckerman and we are here to visit our grandmother Hannah Puckerman."

"She has been talking about you two," the nurse smiled at them, "we have heard all about your wedding. She is not well. Don't be surprised if she is a little confused."

Noah took Rachel's hand and pulled her towards his grandmother's room. Hannah was laying still in her bed with her eyes closed.

"Good morning Savta," Noah whispered, kissing her forehead. Hannah's eyes cracked open.

"Noah! Rachel!" she replied with a smile, "I have been waiting for you to come visit me... how was your honeymoon?"

Noah wrapped his arm around Rachel's waist and pulled her close, "We saw you a couple of days ago, remember Savta?" Rachel reminded her.

"Oh… I guess I forgot," the older woman said, "how are you both?"

The two teens told Hannah about school and their new house. Before long it was time for them to leave and they were piling back into the truck.

"I don't like seeing her like that," Rachel said sadly, placing her hand on his thigh.

* * *

The big blow up happened a few days before Sectionals. Noah left Rachel sitting in the car while he ran back into the choir room to grab his jacket. When he turned into the room, he saw his teacher pulling blankets and pillows out of his office and piling them up in a dark corner.

"Uh… are you sleeping here Mr Schue?" he startled the teacher.

"Puck!" the teacher yelped, "what are you doing here?"

"I came back for my jacket."

"Oh… I um…" after a minutes silence the teacher sighed, "Terri and I are getting a divorce."

Noah's eyes widened as the teacher described what had happened.

"I found out that she has been faking her pregnancy. I don't know what she was planning on doing once her supposed due date passed… I can't believe I was fooling myself for so long that our relationship was working. I let her boss me around."

Will continued to tell Noah about how he was planning on staying at the school until everything was sorted. Terri was going to move in with her sister, Kendra, in a couple of weeks.

"Wait here," Puck ordered the teacher and bolted out of the room before he could argue.

"Noah! What took you so long?" Rachel whined but stopped short when she noticed the look on his face, "What's wrong?"

"How do you feel about moving back into Mom's for a little while?" he asked.

"Why?" Rachel was confused.

"Mr Schue is still in the choir room. He has been sleeping here for a while. Terri was faking the pregnancy and now they are getting a divorce. He doesn't have anywhere else to go so I was thinking, if it's okay with you and mom, we could move back into our old room for a while and he could stay at our place," he explained.

Rachel gasped, "Yes, of course! It's fine with me."

Noah smiled and quickly called his mom, who agreed straight away. He jogged back into the choir room and turned to his teacher.

"Grab your shit and follow me," he told his teacher.

"Language Puck," Will frowned, "and why?"

"You can't stay here so you're staying at our place," Puck explained as if it was obvious.

"I can't do that. I don't want to cause an inconvenience."

"It's cool. I've already spoken to my ima… my mom… and Rachel about it. Rach and I can stay in our old room and you can stay at our place."

"Thank you Puck. I appreciate this."

Will followed their car until it pulled up outside the Puckerman house. Noah helped their teacher carry his things in while Rachel unlocked the door to the main house. They left Will's bags in the living room and showed him around the main house.

"There is no kitchen in the pool room," Rachel explained, "so we just eat over here. I'm just going to get some of our stuff and change the linen, then the place is all yours." She bounced out the back door and returned a while later with some of their gear in a couple of bags. Noah and her, showed Will to their house and then left him to sort his gear out.

By the time Rebekah returned from work with Zia hot on her heels, Will had settled into the couples house and was watching a baseball game with Noah in the living room of the main house. Rachel sat at the dining table completing her homework, muttering away in another language.

"Uh… is she speaking English?" Will asked Puck.

"No… Hebrew," Puck laughed, "she does it when she's frustrated… she doesn't realize she is doing it," he listened to what he wife was saying and chuckled, "she is just reading what she has written out loud… sounds good baby," he said loudly to Rachel making her blush and mumble an apology.

The unusual group sat around the dining table to dinner. Will got to see a different Rachel and Noah outside of school. They were playing around with each other and Zia. After dinner, Rebekah declared it was the teens turn to do the dishes. Falling into their usual routine, Rachel flicked on the radio as Noah filled up the sink.

The couple gently hummed along until a favorite song of theirs came on and they turned to look at each other with a smile. Noah started singing and dancing a little around her, while she laughed at his actions and tried to take the dripping cup from his hands to dry. Eventually she joined in with the singing, just as Noah tipped another glass of water over her head.

Will looked up in surprise at them.

"You get used to it," Zia laughed at him.

"Yes," Rebekah agreed, "this is a regular occurrence. They have been like this since they were kids."

Rachel and Noah trudged up the stairs to get out of their now soaking wet clothes. They opened the door to their old room and stared at the many boxes that were piled all around.

"We can sleep on the sofa tonight. I'll move the boxes into the garage tomorrow," Noah laughed. He had forgotten they had moved all the boxes from the pool room into their old room until they had time to sort through them.

* * *

When Will walked into the living room on Saturday morning he was surprised to see the sofa bed pulled out and the two stars of his Glee club sound asleep. Noah cracked open an eye to see his teacher.

"Morning," he said as he untangled himself from Rachel's grasp.

"I thought you two were going to sleep in your old room. I didn't want to kick you out of your house," Will replied.

"It's no problem. We forgot that we put a heap of boxes from the pool room into our room. I have to move them to the garage today," Noah explained, sitting up a little. Rachel stirred with the movement but fell back to sleep immediately.

"Sorry, I don't want to wake her," the teacher whispered. Noah laughed loudly.

"Trust me. You talking isn't going to wake her. A bomb going off in her ear wouldn't wake her. She is definitely a fan of sleeping. I struggle to get her up for school sometimes."

"Really?" Will was surprised, "That doesn't sound like the Rachel we know from school."

"Yup. Watch this," Noah turned to Rachel and yelled loudly, "Rachel!" when that got no response he lent down and shook her gently, "Rach, you gotta get up. You have dancing in an hour."

"Fuck off, Noah," she mumbled and rolled over, pulling the covers up around her head. Will's eyes widened at hearing Rachel swear in her sleep. It was something he wasn't used too.

"See?" he said to the teacher, "don't worry about waking her. You're better off just letting her sleep until she realizes she is running late."

The teen climbed out of bed and into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. He and the teacher split the paper and were silently reading when Zia walked into the room.

"You're up early today Zia," Noah commented.

"I woke up when you were yelling at Rachel," the little girl yawned. Will and Noah burst out laughing that him yelling had woken up his sister sleeping upstairs but not Rachel.

"Noah… Can I sit on your bed to watch cartoons?" she asked. Her brother nodded and from his spot at the dining table Will watched as the little girl jumped playfully on the bed as she sang along with the TV. Will chuckled at the fact the movement and loud singing didn't stir Rachel at all. Puck acted as if this was a common occurrence.

"Does she always sleep like this?" Will asked.

"Not always. She's usually pretty good during the week but weekends are useless at the moment… On top of all the extra Glee rehearsals for Sectionals, she has had tons of extra dance practices, she's exhausted. It's not that she doesn't wake up its more like she falls back to sleep pretty easily. She wakes up to turn our alarm off every morning but if I'm not careful she's back to sleep within seconds," the teen explained as he made his little sister breakfast.

"Zia!" he yelled loudly, "breakfast!"

The eight year old ran into the room, grabbed the plate from her brother and muttered her thanks. She was about to run back to her cartoons but her brother stopped her.

"Nope… in here," he warned, "you have peanut butter on there and I'm not taking Rachel to the hospital today. Wash your hands when you have finished."

"She's allergic to nuts?" the teacher guessed. He was learning a lot about his students right now. Noah nodded.

"Not highly. She is usually okay if she just doesn't eat them but Missy here isn't known for being neat and will probably drop crumbs all over her, I'd rather not risk it. She's actually allergic to quite a lot and it wouldn't be the first time I've had to take her to the hospital."

When Zia was starting on her second piece of toast, the clock in the living room chimed, "here we go," she laughed.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1…" Noah counted with a smile.

"Shit!" the teacher heard Rachel yell from her bed in perfect time with her husbands counting. She quickly hurried out of the room. Puck quickly washed his hands and put a couple of slices of bread in the toaster. The two kids in the kitchen were acting as if this was normal as Rachel rushed around swearing.

"Noah do you know where my…" she called out but was interrupted.

"By the door!" he called back. Will thought he heard Rachel call back her thanks but she disappeared again. Zia got up to help and went to grab a drink bottle off the counter. Her hands were swatted away by her brother's.

"Wash your hands first," he warned. The little girl did as she was instructed and then filled up the bottle and placed it in front of Noah.

Will heard the front door slam and looked at the remaining teen.

"…It's okay, She'll be back in a second," he laughed, "when she realizes she has forgotten shit."

Like Noah predicted, Rachel came bursting back through the door and into the kitchen, "Hi!" she smiled, grabbed the drink bottle and kissed Noah quickly, "bye!" She turned to leave before quickly turning back and taking the piece of toast her husband held out for her, "thanks!" she called as she closed the door.

"That was… intense," Will laughed.

"Welcome to the Puckerman house!" Noah laughed.

* * *

_**Hope it was worth the wait! Please review!**_


	23. Chapter 23

_**AN: As promised. Please enjoy! Not a long one but it should tie you over until I get back from my holiday at least. Please send me some suggestions for where you see this story going. I've only got a bit more of this pre-written so if there is something you'd like to see, now is the time to let me know!**_

_**Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own Glee.  
**_

_**Elle**_

* * *

The family settled into a nice routine. After all of the boxes had been moved to the garage, Noah and Rachel could move into their old room, Will drove them to school each day while Rebekah drove Zia after school finished, the couple usually walked home and had an hour or so to themselves before anyone else got home. It wasn't as ideal as having their own place like they had before their teacher moved in but it was working for now.

Will had been careful about when he came home after walking in on the teenagers making out a couple of times. Each time they laughed it off but the teacher was extremely grateful for what they were sacrificing for him. A couple of weeks later the Glee clubs competition season started for the year. Will had a bad feeling about Sectionals. Something didn't seem right. Sue was being far too chirpy and overly confident that New Directions were not going to do well. As he drove himself, Puck and Rachel to the school to meet the bus, he knew Sue was up to something but couldn't work out what.

Everything became clear as soon as their rival teams stepped out onto the stage. With the Jane Addams girls performing two of their numbers and then being followed by the Haverbrook students singing 'Don't Stop Believing,' no one was sure what to do.

Back in the green room, everyone started accusing each other of being spies and arguments were starting everywhere. Thankfully, Rachel had stopped that arguments blowing up even further by telling Santana, who was furious at this point, that she 'Believed they were telling the truth.' She took charge of the situation.

"There is no point in us arguing about it any longer… it's obvious Coach Sylvester screwed us over, but we have to go on in an hour," she reminded them.

"but we have no songs!" Tina stated. After a few unhelpful suggestions from the group, it came back to Rachel.

"Mercedes, do you have anything else in your repertoire?" she asked.

"Yeah… but it's not going to be as good as anything you're going to sing…" the girl looked over at Rachel.

"No. We agreed… the Ballard is yours. I've had my turn," Rachel shook her head.

"I know what we agreed. Look Rachel, the truth is you're the best singer we've got… you are going to win us Sectionals, we need _you_ right now."

"Mercedes is right… Rachel is our star, if anyone is going to belt it on the fly… it should be her," Kurt agreed.

"But I don't have a song," Rachel stuttered over their generosity. This time it was her husbands turn to speak up.

"Yes you do… what about that one you've been singing in the shower for like the last month," he reminded her.

"Oh, well I guess I have been working on that for a few years."

"Great… so we have our Ballard," Mr Schue smiled at the way his students all pulled together in their time of need.

"And we can close with Somebody To Love," Quinn suggested, "it's a real crowd pleaser."

"But we still need another song," someone reminded the group.

"I have an idea," Finn rushed to his backpack and pulled out a stack of sheet music, "I was going to suggest this song for something else, but I think we could pull it off."

All the teens looked at the papers in their hands and the room suddenly became a mess of activity as they started to work out the choreography together. The group decided Puck and Rachel would take the leads and now Rachel was having a minor panic attack.

"How am I supposed to do this Noah?" she said quietly to her husband, "I have barely practiced this song out of the shower for months and now our whole success at Sectionals is dependant on it."

"You are going to be amazing, babe," he took her in his arms and kissed her forehead, "the song is perfect."

"I love you," she whispered into his chest.

* * *

When the MC for the event introduced McKinley High's New Directions, Noah gave his wife, one more kiss before pushing her towards the curtain at the back of the room. Rachel took a deep breath as the music started and whipped the curtain open on cue. As always, Rachel delivered. Will sat in his seat beaming as he watched Rachel give a performance that gave him goosebumps. And then it was time for the others to join her on stage.

As Noah walked past Rachel he gave her hand a quick squeeze to say well done and made his way to his starting position. He was nervous, this would be the first time he would have a solo in front of a competition crowd and now he was the lead.

They finished up both songs- 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' and 'Somebody To Love'. Their performance had earned them a standing ovation from the judges and the audience. Rachel looked out into the crowd and could see the proud smile on Mr Schuesters face.

When it was announced that they had won, Rachel stood silently, half expecting the judges to say it was a mistake and correct themselves- but it never came. Instead Noah's arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close.

"I told you that you could do it," he smiled, lowering his lips to hers and kissing her gently.

* * *

When Noah and Rachel walked in the door to the Puckerman house with Will following close behind, the two were teasing each other, still on a high from their win.

"I take it, it is good news then?" Rebekah asked with a smile. The two teens eagerly nodded their heads.

"Congratulations… I'm sorry I couldn't get the day off work. I'll make sure I can come to your next competition," she reassured them both, "Now tell me all about it."

Rachel went into a detailed recount of the day, leaving out no aspect. Noah filled the kettle and started to make a pot of coffee. Will moved over to help him.

"I'm proud of you, Puck," the man said, "It can't have been easy to go out and perform at your first big competition with only a little practice."

To say Puck was shocked was an understatement, "Uh… thank you," he replied, "but Rachel is the star, not me."

"I don't know about that… Vocally, you are almost as good as her and don't pretend I didn't see you calming her down before you guys took the stage."

Noah nodded and continued to make the coffees, "When we were at our old school, Rachel used to beg me to try out for the lead with her… I didn't give in once. I just settled for singing back up and occasionally a solo. The thing is, I know she wouldn't care if I said no when you offered me the spot as lead… but she only had to look at me this time to have me agreeing to it."

Will smiled, "Welcome to married life… you'll agree to almost anything to see your wife smile."

Puck laughed, "Too true."

* * *

Rachel was busy working in her math class when there was a knock at the door. The entire class looked up to see Ms Pillsbury quickly cross the room and whisper something to the teacher before looking up and addressing Rachel.

"Rachel, can I see you in the hall please. You should bring your bag."

"What's wrong?" Rachel said when they left the room.

"Noah's grandmother…" the guidance councilor said softly, "she passed away half an hour ago... I'm sorry," She tried to break the news gently but Rachel sobbed quietly. Emma pulled the girl in for a hug. When Rachel calmed down, she came to her senses a little more.

"Have you told Noah?" she wiped her eyes.

"No… I thought it would be better coming from you. I know he is very close with his grandmother," Rachel nodded and started to make her way to Noah's classroom. She stopped outside the door and caught her breath. Ms Pillsbury gave her a sympathetic smile before Rachel pushed the door open without knocking.

"Ms Berry, You need to return to your class," the teacher said not seeing Ms Pillsbury waiting in the hall, "these students are completing a test."

"Puckerman. My name is Rachel Puckerman and I need to talk to my husband," Rachel ordered. Noah looked up at her and immediately saw the desperate look on her face.

"Babe! What's going on? You're scaring me." He packed his things up and stood to join her.

"Puck. You need to complete the test. Whatever it is you wish to discuss will have to wait," the teacher said assuming this was just one of Rachel's overly dramatic moments.

"I think its best that they talk now," Emma said from the doorway assuring the woman that Rachel was serious, "Puck can take a make-up test at a later date." The teen couple stepped out into the hall.

"Rachel…?" Puck whispered seeing the tears building in her eyes.

"Savta…" she said quietly, not wanting to have to explain it to him. He got the message.

"When?" he asked, not hiding the tears from her.

"About half an hour ago," she stepped into his grasp and they wrapped their arms around each other.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" the guidance councilor asked them. She had watched from a little distance as Rachel broke the news to him.

"No. Thank you. We'll be fine," Rachel told her, "but could you tell Mr Schue we aren't going to be in Glee Club."

Rachel took the car keys from her husband's hands and drove them straight home. When they walked in the door they immediately spotted Zia and Rebekah sitting on the couch surrounded by tissues. The family spent the evening together in comfortable silence. Rachel's parents came over to offer their condolences and Will, who felt bad about still crashing at their house when they obviously needed family time, made sure they all ate. Rachel reassured him that he was welcome and part of the family. Although they were all aware that it was inevitable, it was still difficult to lose such an important person in their lives.

* * *

_**Please review! And don't forget to let me know of any suggestions you'd like to see in this story.**_


	24. Chapter 24

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee… Sadly.**_

_**AN: Hi all, after my sad ending of the last chapter, I needed to include this. It's certainly not a happy chapter but it should clear up some issues about Puck's passed… Rachel included.**_

_**Let me know what you think =)**_

_**Elle xox**_

* * *

"Puck, Rachel… we're sorry to hear about your grandmother," Mercedes said sadly to the pair when they returned to school a few days later.

"Thanks Mercedes," Rachel replied, squeezing Noah's hand and leaning into his side. The day passed in a blur. Their friends tried to distract them but knew their thoughts were wandering to the death and upcoming funeral. In a final attempt to help take their minds off everything, the Glee group were going shopping for supplies for a movie night at Arties. It was exactly what they needed.

As they searched the aisles for a range of junk food, they were laughing for the first time in a while. Rachel and Santana rushed off to find a few healthier options leaving the rest of the group to scan the chocolate section. Laughing with his friends as he walked, Noah bumped into another shopper.

"Sorry," he muttered an apology but froze when he locked eyes on the man, "What the fuck are you doing here?" he spat angrily.

"Noah! Wow!" the man stuttered, avoiding the question, "look at you!"

The awkwardness was interrupted by the return of Santana and Rachel.

"We got a heap of fruit for the girls and…" Santana's voice dwindled off when she saw the stare off between her friend and the strange man. She heard Rachel gasp from her spot next to her.

"Jason?" Rachel said in disbelief, her eyes widening as she took her place at Noah's side with their friends surrounding them.

"Rachel Berry!" the man's smile grew somewhat awkwardly, "I see the troublesome twins are still together," the man said indicating between the pair, "still up to mischief?"

"Puckerman. Rachel Puckerman," Noah seethed. The man's eyes widened in shock.

"You got married already? Wow! I didn't expect that to happen so soon… well, perhaps I should have, knowing your grandmother… I always liked Hannah," Jason replied. The couple just stared at him.

"What are you doing here Jason?" Rachel said quietly, "it's been seven years."

"The funeral. I know I shouldn't come but… I felt like I at least needed to come back here for it," Jason explained before turning back to Noah, "God, I see so much of myself in you… how is your sister?"

"She is fine. No thanks to you."

"Look, I know I was never around to be a decent father to you and Zia… or Rachel, and I know I can never take that back, but I have changed. I've got my life sorted now. I'm dry and I'm working again- I have been for five years… I'd like to get to know you again."

Noah looked his father directly in the eye and saw the sincerity. Against better judgment he nodded his acceptance of Jason's apology. He took Rachel's hand and gently pulled her towards the checkout but stopped and turned back to his father, "We are having a wake back at Rachel's dads house after the service… you could maybe come."

Their friends followed them in silence out of the store and watched as Rachel stopped her husband and forced him to look at her, "are you okay Stretch?"

He nodded, "can we just talk about it later, please? This conversation doesn't need an audience." Rachel gave him a small smile and let him pull her towards their car.

"We'll meet you at Arties," she called to their friends. Rachel kept her promise and they drove in silence through the streets of Lima. She knew he wasn't ready to face anything yet as he drove around aimlessly for a while. Eventually she gave the hand that was clasping hers a little squeeze and when he looked at her, he knew she was telling him it was time they caught up with their friends.

The Glee kids didn't mention the incident in front of Puck. They could see he was visibly still shaken by it, but when Santana had Rachel alone in the kitchen, she pounced.

"That guy today… was he…?" she asked cautiously.

"Noah's dad… yes," Rachel sighed, "We haven't seen him in over seven years. At the time we didn't know what was going on. One minute Rebekah was dropping Noah and a baby Zia off at my house… by the time she came back to pick them up and took them home, he was gone. He wasn't a great father or husband but Noah still loved him, we both did, and I'm not sure he will ever be able to forgive him."

"Why doesn't he talk to people about all of this?" Santana said curiously.

"He never has… even I have a hard time getting it out of him and I was there when it happened," Rachel started to pace, "Like today for instance, he had no idea how to deal with it, told me we would talk about it later and we drove around aimlessly for an hour before coming here. I'm his wife… I should know what to say to him and yet I sat there and let him suffer in silence.

"Rachel, that man hurt you as much as he hurt Puck… he was a part of your life as well," Santana reassured the girl.

"I know, but…" she wasn't really sure what she wanted to say so she just stood in silence for a while, "has Noah ever told you why he left our old school?"

Santana shook her head, "he just said that he had to come to a school closer to home."

"For the most part, that is true… There were a number of reasons why we both moved. It started with curriculum. Noah actually knew Finn before he moved to McKinley, they were on the same football team when we were little. Finn used to talk about the football program at McKinley and Pilton didn't offer anything like that," Rachel explained the situation, "But the real reason was its distance from home. It used to take us around forty minutes to get to PJC everyday. It was reasonably late by the time we got back each day, and with Zia needing picking up and no husband to help at home, Rebekah needed Noah home earlier. For me it was more having Noah around than anything else. Our class at Pilton was getting smaller and smaller and I didn't like making the long trip by myself everyday… My dad's didn't like it either and eventually pulled me out."

"So Puck had to leave your old school because his dad left?" Santana asked for clarification.

"I think he would have moved anyway but it certainly was a factor that was considered," Rachel said quietly.

"Would _you_ have come anyway?" the Latina asked curiously.

"Honestly… at the time, probably not. I loved PJC… so did Noah, but it couldn't offer him everything like it did for me… I hated McKinley. I begged my parents to let me go back to PJC for months. I might have hated it to begin with, but I love McKinley now so it's okay."

The girls made their way back to the living room. Noah hadn't moved much, so Rachel sat herself down in his lap and ran a hand through his hair. His hand gripped her waist so she knew, despite his vacant stare, he was paying attention to her.

"Do you want to go home?" she whispered. He seemed to think it over for a minute before shaking his head.

"When the movie is over," he whispered back, pulling her to his chest. As promised, when the movie finished, Rachel stood and gathered their things.

"Thanks for today guys. We really appreciate you trying to distract us," Rachel smiled at their friends, "but we have to go home… we have a few new issues to deal with now too."

When the couple left everyone turned to Santana, knowing she would have spoken to Rachel about it all.

"Was that guy…?" Kurt asked.

"Puck's dad… he's been gone for seven years," Santana told them, "Rachel's trying to hold it together for him but she's not sure what she should think, she loved the guy as much as Puck did. From what I got, he left to become a 'rock star'. Rachel seems to think he never held a job for very long… she said his leaving was part of the reason Puck moved to McKinley High."

* * *

As soon as Rachel pulled Noah's truck into their driveway, he undid his belt and stormed inside. He walked straight past his mom and teacher, sitting at the table.

"Is everything okay, Noah?" Rebekah was worried, her son never stormed around like this. He grunted and continued up the stairs, "Rachel!" she called, hoping her daughter in law was around somewhere.

"I'm here," Rachel said quietly.

"What is going on?" Rebekah asked. The teen took a deep breath and sunk down in the seat next to Will. She put her head in her hands, muttering away in Hebrew.

"Rachel! Rachel!" Rebekah yelled to get the girls attention, "Slow down sweetheart, and speak in English."

"Sorry," she apologized to her teacher, who had no idea what she was saying when she spoke in Hebrew, "We… uh… we ran into… Jason… at the store," she said, glancing up to see Rebekah's reaction. The woman's eyes widened, "he said he had turned his life around and was here for the funeral."

Rebekah leapt from her seat, "I'll talk to him," she said and headed straight up to her sons old bedroom, leaving behind a visibly upset Rachel and a confused teacher.

"Uh… are you okay?" Will asked Rachel hesitantly.

Rachel gave him an awkward smile, "I'm fine… I'm just worried about Noah… Jason… well, Jason is Noah's dad… We haven't seen him in over seven years. Zia was just a baby."

"Oh… and he just turned up, out of the blue, for the funeral?"

Rachel nodded slowly, "he said he has a job and is sober now, and from what I saw… he does look different but… I don't know… we were just kids and loved him just because… but he walked out on us…I don't know what to think."

Will was stunned. He knew Puck had some 'issues' with his dad, but he didn't think it was anything quite as serious as Rachel was explaining it to be. The pair sat in silence for a while longer.

* * *

When Rebekah knocked on her son's door, she got no reply. She gently opened the door to find him laying face first on the bed.

"I fucking invited him to the wake!" he said angrily, "why would I do that? He abandoned us!"

"Because as much as what he did still hurts, you love him," Rebekah wrapped her arms around him, "Rachel said that he said he has turned his life around, what do you think?"

"He looked good," Noah admitted, "he said he has been sober and held a job for five years now... he sounded serious."

"Maybe he is… he wouldn't have told you any of that if he didn't want you to know."

"So you're saying I should just forgive him?" he looked right at his mom.

"No… I am saying that he has given you the information and now you need to work out how you feel about it… with Rachel. She is your wife and she is just as upset by this as you are," Rebekah reminded him.

* * *

Downstairs, Rachel and Will were still sitting in silence.

"I need to go check on him," she said eventually, making her way up the stairs to the room she shared with Noah. She carefully pushed open the door and took one look at her husband in his mom's arms before bursting into tears.

"I'm sorry, Baby," Noah apologized for not considering how she was feeling about all of this, "Are you okay?"

Rachel walked into his open arms and hugged him tight. She nodded. The three lay staring at the ceiling for a while longer.

"I really want to hate him and never speak to him again…" Noah started, "but… I just can't… I don't think I will ever forgive him for what he has done to us but… is it stupid that I want to see if he really has changed?"

"Not at all," Rebekah kissed his forehead, "I think we all _should_ get to know him… and if he really has changed then… we can see how we go." She left the couple alone to think things through.

"So… my fucking dad still has a way with messing with our lives at the most inappropriate times," he chuckled, wrapping his arms tightly around his wife's waist. Rachel gave a little laugh into his chest.

* * *

_**Please Review=)**_


	25. Chapter 25

_**AN: I know I say this every time I update but I'm sorry for the wait. I've lost a bit of inspiration for my stories at the moment. I wrote a few new ones, which I am happy with but have struggled to update my older ones. Needless to say, I want to finish this story… If you've got any ideas- Please review with them and I'll try to remember to credit you in my update.**_

_**In response to my last update, I had a couple of people remind me about the Jewish law that states you must be buried immediately. I AM aware of that, however, it didn't fit in with my storyline of having Puck's dad return… Please forgive me.**_

_**This is a really short chapter, but I figured it was better than nothing!**_

_**Elle**_

* * *

Sunday was the day of the funeral. Rachel and Noah were extremely grateful to their friends, from both PJC and McKinley, for coming to support the family. As they were walking hand in hand back to their car, Rachel spotted Jason standing off to the side in a neat black suit. She squeezed Noah's hand and gestured with her head over to the man.

"Finn, Jamie… can you stay with Rachel for a minute?" he asked his best mates before heading over to his father.

"Look… I'm not ready to forgive you, but I meant what I said… you can come to the wake," he told him, "but if you hurt my wife and I or any of our family… you can forget ever having contact with us again."

"Thank you Noah… it means a lot to me to be given the opportunity to prove to you all that I have changed," Jason said.

Noah nodded, "I have to get back to Rachel," he pointed over his shoulder, "See you at the wake."

He walked quickly back to his family and replaced his arm around Rachel, "you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he smiled, "We'll see how this goes. Are you okay with this? You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to."

"It's okay Noah… I want to see him," she reassured him with a bright smile and a soft kiss, "now let's head over to my dad's house so we can celebrate Savta's life the way she would have wanted us too."

"Have I told you today, how amazing you are?" he whispered.

* * *

Back at the Berry's house, Rachel went to get her jacket out of the car when she spotted Jason leaning against his car across the road. Re-locking the car, she crossed the street.

"You can come in," she told him with a small smile, "Noah was serious when he said you could come."

"I didn't think just walking in after all these years was the best way to do it," Jason admitted.

"Any way you do it is going to be awkward… you walked out on us," Rachel pointed out, "but if it makes it any easier Rebekah, my Dad's and Noah and my friends, know you are coming… we didn't tell Zia, incase you didn't show."

Jason nodded and pushed off the car towards the house. Rachel held the door open for him and led him through to the backyard. She had been right, it was awkward, everyone who knew who he was, stopped and stared, waiting to see what would happen.

Rebekah crossed garden to stand in front of him, "Jason," she greeted him with a small smile, "It's good to see you well."

"You too Rebekah… I'm sorry for not giving you more warning that I was in town," he apologized.

"It's okay… you're making an effort."

Paul and Isaac came over to say hello as well. While they were busy talking, Noah and Rachel wandered off to find Zia.

"There is someone here who wants to meet you," Noah said as he pulled his little sister into his lap, "see that man over their talking to Paul and Isaac…" Zia nodded and turned back to her brother, "well… he is our dad," he told her.

Zia's eyes widened, "Really?"

Noah nodded his head with a small smile, "he would really like to meet you while he is in town."

"but if you don't want to meet him, that's okay too," Rachel added, reassuring the girl that it was her choice.

Zia seemed to think it through nervously, "Will you come with me?"

"Absolutely, we won't leave your side," he smiled and picked her up. He carried her on his right side and his left arm wrapped around Rachel. The group walked over to the man.

"Jason… uh, dad, this is Zia… Zia this is our dad," Noah said, giving the little girl in his arms a gentle squeeze.

"Well aren't you a beautiful little girl," Jason smiled warmly, "the last time I saw you, you were just a little baby."

Zia gave him a little smile and Noah put her down on the ground.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to see you grow up," the man knelt down in front of her, "but I would really like to get to know you now, if that's okay with you."

"I'd like that, daddy," she replied quietly.

With the introductions out the way, the atmosphere was much more relaxed. Noah cornered Rachel at the drinks table, "hey beautiful," he smiled, resting his hands on her hips, "how are you going?"

"Better," she grinned, "Savta would have liked this."

"Yes, she would have," he wrapped a hand in her hair and kissed her soundly. A gentle cough from behind them broke them apart. They turned to see Jason.

"So I take it you guys are together in all sense of the word now… not just because you had an arranged marriage?" he asked.

"We were together before we got married, yes," Rachel smiled.

"Good… I'm glad you're both happy," Jason smiled, "When was the wedding?"

"October twentieth," Noah replied.

"Congratulations," he handed them an envelope, "it's a belated wedding present."

Noah opened the packet and pulled out a card. When he opened the card to read the message, he found a cheque stuck inside. His eyes widened when he read how much it was for. He handed it to Rachel who gasped and they both looked up at his father.

"Twenty grand… are you serious?"

"When I first sobered up and started working, I bought a share in the company I was working for… I have since started my own business and both companies are doing well… I don't want you to think I am trying to buy your forgiveness because I'm not… I am very aware that I need to earn that. I've been putting money aside for you three kids for years," Jason explained nervously, "That money is what I had saved for your wedding… I didn't think it would be so soon though. Put it aside for school, a house, a holiday… whatever you like… it's for you both."

"Thank you," Noah said seriously, "it means a lot to me to know that you have been thinking about us." He held out his hand to shake his fathers. Rachel to, hugged the man and thanked him profusely.

"I never asked where you live. Are you sticking around town for a while?" Noah asked.

"Just until the end of the week," Jason explained, "and I live on a property about an hour and a half from here… you are welcome to come and visit anytime you like. I put my contact details inside your wedding card."

"We might just do that," Noah smiled towards his dad.

"Well, I'm going to head off," said Jason, "Thank you for inviting me."

They watched as he said goodbye to the rest of the family.

"We have twenty thousand dollars," Noah whispered into Rachel's neck.

* * *

_**Like I said, a quick update.  
**_

**_Please let me know if you have any ideas, I want to start wrapping this story up._**

_**Elle**_


	26. Chapter 26

_**AN: I could apologise for the delay but I think you've heard enough of that! I'm kinda struggling with this story. While I haven't been posting, I have been writing- just not the stories I've already posted. I really want to finish this one up before I post another. **_

_**Hope you enjoy it regardless.**_

_**Ellé xoxo**_

* * *

Noah was in the kitchen fixing himself breakfast on Saturday morning when Will walked in from the pool house. The man made himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the dinning table.

"You're up early," he commented.

"I have work today," Noah replied. Will raised an eyebrow silently asking the question Noah knew would come up, "I work at Kurt's dads garage… I don't clean pools anymore… the clients… Well, I just wouldn't do that to Rach."

Will gave a smile in reply and left the teen to get ready in silence.

"Umm," Noah started, "Rachel is still asleep… if she's not awake by 12 can you please knock on the door and remind her she has to pick up Zia from her friends house and drop her at dance? I'll try to call and wake her up but she tends to ignore a ringing phone."

"Will she really sleep that long?" the teacher asked in surprise.

"If you let her," Noah laughed, "It depends."

"Okay," Will chuckled, "I'll do my best."

The hours started to tick by and soon enough it was noon and Will had still yet to see any sign of Rachel waking up. Following the girls husband's instructions, he climbed the stairs to the bedroom and knocked on the door. Hearing a murmur of a reply from inside he spoke up, "Rachel, Puck asked me to remind you that you have to get Zia and drop her at dance." There was another muffled reply from inside the room and as if he had perfect timing, Rachel's cellphone began ringing and Will assumed it was the girl's husband. Deciding he had done his part, he left her alone and went back down stairs.

When Rachel finally appeared half an hour later, he wordlessly placed a coffee in front of her.

"Thanks," Rachel smiled. She knew that she was a good sleeper and that she had pretty much slept the whole day away but sometimes that is exactly what she needed, "I'm not much of a morning person."

"I've noticed," Will chuckled, "I don't think I have ever seen anyone who can sleep through as much as you have."

Rachel blushed, "Sometimes I'm so busy with school, dance, glee and vocal that I need the extra sleep… now it's just a bad habit of mine." Rachel rushed out the door to pick up Zia.

The next time Will saw her, was an hour or so after Noah got home. She stormed in looking furious but trying to hide it, "Go upstairs and have a shower, Zia," she gently told the little girl.

As soon as Zia was upstairs, Rachel turned and glared at Noah.

"Whoa! Babe, what's wrong?" he said slowly.

"Would you like to explain why your eight year old sister just asked me what a blow-job was? She said she heard it from you and Mike!" Rachel shrieked.

"I'm just going to go out to the pool house," Will awkwardly excused himself, backing out of the room and heading outside.

"She asked you what?!" Noah gasped, "shit! I'm sorry babe."

"Noah, what we do in our private time is between us," Rachel sighed, "I am well aware that teenage boys discuss these things with each other and I'm not going to lie, the topic of our sex life has come up in conversations between me and the girls… but that doesn't mean an eight year old needs to know about it. It put me in a really awkward position."

"Rach," Noah whispered, "I'm sorry. She must have overheard me talking to the boys. I don't hand out details but the topic has come up… I'll be more careful, I promise."

"I know you didn't mean it, Noah," Rachel kissed him softly, "it just really caught me off guard."

"I'll go have a chat to her," Noah suggested, "she shouldn't be talking about that kind of stuff."

Rachel nodded and Noah tiptoed up the stairs where he found Zia combing her wet hair.

"Do you need a hand with that?" he smiled at her, "I might not be as good as Ima or Rachel but I can do a mean pony-tail."

Zia giggled and handed her big brother the brush. Noah combed her hair in silence for a minute before he pounced, "I heard you asked Rachel some questions on the way home from dance."

"Yeah," Zia said quietly, "she went all red and didn't answer so I guess it's a sex thing, right?"

Noah coughed at that question, "uh… yeah, it is," he replied awkwardly, "you shouldn't talk about those sort of things until you're older," he warned her.

Zia nodded, "Ima said that too… I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"I know you didn't, Midget," Noah smiled, "and I'm not angry. But how about, if you hear me talking about something and you have questions, you come and ask me. If it's something you shouldn't be talking about, I'll tell you that but otherwise, I'll answer your questions."

"Okay," the little girl grinned. Noah kept on brushing her hair, "Noah, do you like being married to Rachel?" she asked, "Claire at school said that people with arranged marriages don't like it."

"That's true sometimes," Noah explained, "but it's a little bit different with me and Rach. In some arranged marriages, the bride and groom don't get to meet until their wedding day and sometimes they don't have any choice and have to marry the person their family picks for them. We've known Rachel longer than I can remember and Rach and I have known for a very long time that one day we would get married… but even then, Ima and Rachel's dads asked us if this is what we wanted… they didn't make us get married. I love Rachel and I love being married to her, so it was our choice."

"That's good," Zia smiled, "Coz I love Rachel too and it would be really bad if she went away."

"It would be," Noah agreed with a little chuckle at how cute his sister was right now, "that's why we've got to do everything we can to make sure she never wants to leave."

"That's your job!" Zia squealed playfully, "you're her husband."

"Hey, I do plenty for her," Noah said with mock annoyance.

"You haven't taken her on a date since you got married," the little girl pointed out. Her statement made him freeze. While he and Rachel had gone out a few times, they hadn't gone out on their own since the wedding.

"You know what, Zia?" he smiled gently, "you're right… I think that that is the best idea you've ever had… So where should I take her, do you think?"

"Ummm," Zia thought, "a picnic?"

"It's not the best weather for a picnic," Noah pointed out, "but I could take her up to the lookout. There is a shelter up there."

"Yeah!" Zia said excitedly, "and you can have a picnic all packed up."

"What do you say, Midget… Wanna help me get it all organized for her as a surprise?"

"Yeah!" Zia started jumping up and down.

"Okay, well I'll have to go to the store and get some stuff for a picnic," he whispered as the two walked down stairs. Rachel was sitting at the dining table doing her homework and Will had returned to the room. Noah gently kissed Rachel's head, "I'm just going to the store and Zia wants to come," he whispered, "need anything?"

Rachel sent him a loving smile and shook her head.

Less than half an hour later, Zia and Noah walked back in the door, leaving almost of all of his shopping in the car. He walked up behind Rachel, wrapping his arms around her waist and handing her a bunch of red roses, "I love you," he said softly.

"Oh!" Rachel was surprised, "they are beautiful, Noah! Thank you… and I love you too… Not that I'm objecting, but what are these for."

"Just to say that I love you," he smiled, "and because a very wise eight-year old pointed out to me this afternoon that I haven't taken you on a date since we got married… and I thought, what a better way to start a date than the tradition of giving your girl roses."

"We're going on a date?" Rachel grinned.

"Yup, so go have a shower and don't forget your coat," he pushed her in the direction of the bathroom with a playful tap on her ass.

Once Rachel was secure in the bathroom, Noah and Zia set about getting everything ready for the picnic. When the food was ready and stored safely in the car, Noah spoke to Will, "Uh, I have a huge favour to ask," he started, "would you mind watching Zia for me for an hour or so? Ima should be home by then and I really want to take Rachel out tonight."

"That's fine, Puck," the teacher agreed quickly, "I owe you for letting me stay at your place… it's the least I can do."

"Thanks," Puck replied just as Rachel came down the stairs in a pair of skinny jeans and coat.

"You look gorgeous, Squirt," he told her sincerely.

"Thanks Stretch," she lent up to kiss him gently.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

Rachel quickly nodded but looked around the room, "what about Zi?"

"Mr Schue is gonna watch her until mom gets home," he pulled Rachel out to the truck and helped her up into the passenger seat. He started to drive, ignoring her protests over not being told where they were going.

"I thought we were going for dinner," Rachel commented when he drove up to the lookout.

"We are," he smiled, taking the picnic basket out of the back of the car.

"Oh!" Rachel grinned with surprise, "that's perfect Noah."

He took her hand and pulled her up to the shelter, pleased to see they were the only people here tonight. He quickly lay a blanket down on the floor and indicated for her to sit. Rachel was amazed at how he seemed to think of everything. He had a range of different cold meats and salads for them to choose from and even brought her favourite grape soda.

"This was amazing, Noah," Rachel whispered as she lent up against his side after dinner, "and incredibly romantic."

"The picnic was Zia's idea," he smiled, pleased he had made her happy, "she very bluntly reminded me that I don't take you out often enough."

"She's a smart girl," Rachel smirked, "I don't mind that we don't go out so much… but it's nice to have a night away from everyone else."

Noah shuffled over. Moving so that Rachel was leaning back up against his chest from between his legs. They stayed like that for a significant period of time before Noah noticed Rachel shiver, "lets go, baby," he whispered, kissing the side of her neck gently, "with a bit of luck, the others will be asleep when we get home."

They tiptoed in the door to the main house to find all the lights off and the house silent. Rachel crept up the stairs trying to ignore the feeling of her husbands hands on her hips. As soon as they were safely in their room, Noah's mouth attacked Rachel's lips, swallowing her deep moan as he did.

"Shh, babe," he chuckled a little, "we don't want Zia asking more questions." In a quiet hurry, they gently removed each others clothing and climbed into bed, "I love you," Noah whispered as he hovered over her. Rachel was practically purring at the attention he was giving her and it didn't take long for him to send her over the edge, following closely behind himself.

"I love you too, Noah," Rachel sighed contently as she curled herself into his side and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_**Review Please!**_

_**Anyone want to be sort of a Beta for this story? Let me know. I do have someone in mind but I'm not sure they're keen so I need a back up!**_


	27. Chapter 27

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee =(**_

_**AN: Sorry this has taken so long to upload… I really REALLY struggled to write this chapter… and then after I did, it just didn't seem right or good enough. It's only short but I hope you enjoy it.**_

_**Elle xo**_

* * *

The next morning, Noah chose to sleep in with Rachel. Well, Rachel slept and he lay their watching her. It wasn't until after nine that he chose to wake her by gently running his hand up and down her bare back. Rachel stirred and her eyes fluttered open, looking up at him with a smile.

"I'm never going to hate waking up with you," she told him, "I like it when I wake up and you're still in bed."

Noah chuckled, "I like it too… and I'd do it more often if you didn't sleep like a log."

"I'm not that bad," Rachel argued.

"No, you're not," he agreed, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. They lay chatting about their families for a while longer, "something is bothering you, Babe… I can see it on your face."

"I just…" she stumbled, Noah was always so observant when it came to her, "It's not you or us or anything," she reassured him, "I was talking to Quinn and Santana the other day and they were talking about their mothers… I've always felt I've missed out in that regard… I mean, your mom is fantastic, and I love her, but she's your mom… I'd like to know if I'm anything like mine."

"Why don't you ask your dad's?" he suggested. They had had a few conversations about Rachel's mom over the years.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I just feel that if I ask about her, they'll think that I think they're not good enough."

"Why don't we go see what we can find in all of those boxes of your baby stuff in the basement… there has to be something there," Noah suggested.

"Really?" Rachel smiled, "you'd come with me?"

"Sure thing," he nodded, "but first, lets have a shower and some breakfast."

An hour later, the pair said goodbye to Rebekah and the rest of the family before heading over to the Berry's house and starting to sift through the boxes. Two hours later and they had still not found anything substantial. That was… until Noah found a cassette tape.

"What's this?" he asked, holding it up for her to see.

"From mother to daughter…" Rachel dwindled off, realizing what was probably on the tape. It was a couple of minutes before she spoke again, "I have to listen to it." Noah nodded and followed her through to her old bedroom, "No… Noah, I need to do this by myself."

Noah tried not to look hurt, "why?" he said.

"I just do, Noah," Rachel raised her voice a touch, "and I need you to respect that."

"Rachel," he started.

"No Noah!" Rachel said more forcefully, "I need some space… Go home… I'll get daddy to drop me off later."

Noah stared at her, "Fine," he said bitterly, turning on his heels and leaving. Rachel stood silently as she listened to her husband slam the front door. She knew why he was angry but this was something she needed to do on her own. She didn't want him to see her break down if the tape didn't hold what she hoped for.

After a few minutes of stunned silence, Rachel snapped out of her daze and put the cassette into the player. The tape certainly didn't hold what she thought it held. A chill ran through her spine as she listened to her mothers beautiful voice singing the song Rachel knew so well.

* * *

An hour later, her parents arrived home and walked into her room surprised to see the state she was in.

"Rachel, Honey! What's going on?" Isaac rushed to her side.

"The tape," Rachel gasped, "It's my mom." Paul and Isaac shared a glance, understanding what had happened, "I found it in the basement… I just wanted to know."

"Oh Rachel," Paul sat on Rachel's otherside, "You should have asked us. We would have told you anything you wanted to know."

"I didn't want you to get offended!" she explained, "I love you both so much and I didn't want you to think you weren't good enough."

The family sat in silence for a few more minutes before Isaac spoke up, "Rachel… she signed paperwork to say she wouldn't contact you until you're eighteen… that's why you haven't heard from her… but if you want to contact her, it's a different story… We can organize that if that is what you want."

Rachel just nodded to say she understood. She knew she needed to talk this over with Noah first. Her parents left her alone to gather her thoughts. Rachel lay down on her old bed and pulled out her phone. Her husband picked up after the first ring. Clearly he had been waiting for her call.

"I'm sorry Noah," she whispered.

"No Babe," he replied quietly, "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have pushed it… It's something you needed to do on your own."

"But you're my husband, I should share that with you."

"Rachel, this is a huge thing," he explained, "it's something you've wanted since long before we were married… I'm really not surprised that you want to do it alone… It's fine, really."

Rachel let out a sigh of relief and they fell into silence.

"Do you want me to come pick you up?" Noah asked gently.

"Would you mind if I just stayed here tonight?" she said tentatively, "I want to ask my dad's some questions… and then I need to talk to you about it all tomorrow."

"Okay…" Noah agreed. As much as he wanted her with him, he wanted her to be okay more, "I'll come pick you up in the morning."

"Thank you," Rachel smiled, "Noah… I love you."

"Love you too, babe… sleep well."

* * *

After hanging up with his wife, Noah walked down the stairs and started to help his mom with dinner. A lot had happened today, and he wasn't sure where to begin.

"Where's Rachel," Rebekah asked.

"She's staying at her dad's tonight," he replied simply.

"Is everything okay? You two haven't had a fight have you?" the mother said, seeing how confused her son was.

"We're fine… She just… She got some news about her birth mom today and she wants to talk it over with Paul and Isaac tonight… I'll pick her up in the morning," he reassured his mother that his marriage wasn't about to fall apart just yet, "I think she wants to meet her Mom."

* * *

The girl Noah saw when he arrived at the Berry household the next morning was very different to the one he left the day before. Rachel rushed up to him as he walked through the door, slung her arms around his neck and kissed him, "I really did miss you last night."

He smiled gently down at her, "I missed you too, babe… Are you okay?"

"Much better now," she smiled, "my mind has had a chance to catch up… I think I know what I want to do… Come for a walk?" she suggested, "I want to talk to you about it."

As they walked to the local park, Rachel explained what the tape had held, "Daddy said that she isn't allowed to contact me until I turn eighteen, but if I want to contact her, it's quite a simple process really. We just have to contact the lawyer Dad and Daddy used to write up the surrogacy and adoption papers and he can get hold of her on our behalf."

"Is that what you want to do?" Noah asked her after staying quiet the whole time she was explaining the situation.

"I think so," Rachel nodded, "I mean… Sure, I'm a little nervous about all of this but… I think I'd rather contact her and find out now, then have her show up unexpectedly in a few years time… What do you think?"

"I think… that you have really thought about this… and if this is what you want to do, then I'm with you all the way," he reassured her that it was her decision and that he would go along with whatever she decided to do.

* * *

After explaining to her dads what she wanted to do, it was really just a waiting game. Her fathers had made the appropriate calls to their lawyer who began looking into it immediately. The first piece of news came a week later. Her fathers rang her one evening and explained the call they had received from their lawyer. Her birth mother had agreed to meet with her.

Suddenly everything became very overwhelming and Rachel was in a panic about what was going to happen, "Noah… What if I'm not good enough or if she's this horrible person."

"She wont be, Rachel," he tried to reassure you, "She wouldn't have agreed to meet with you otherwise… and you are amazing… plenty good enough for her… I just wish you'd see yourself the way I see you."

Rachel sighed and rested her forehead against his, "Noah… you know I need to do this by myself, right?" she asked him tentatively.

"I know," he reassured her, "and you know that you just have to call and I'll drop everything, right?"

"I know."

* * *

_**AN: I cut it off there so that I could keep the 'meeting' in a separate chapter. I have written the next chapter but I'm open to suggestions! How do you want it to go? What should Shelby be like? I had every intention of keeping the meeting like in the show, but I'm not so sure now… What do you think?**_

_**Please review… I've lost my spark!**_


	28. Chapter 28

_**AN: Hi All =) Another update! Yay! For those who asked, I am working on the next chapter of You Belong Here Now, just need to research something before I post.**_

_**I keep forgetting that Quinn is pregnant in this story! Hopefully this answers some questions about that storyline.**_

_**PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: Unlike in the show, where one of Rachel's dad's is her biological father, I decided to have her fully adopted. This was not an easy decision to make, however to get the vibe I wanted in Shelby and Rachel's first meeting, it was necessary.**_

_**Please review!**_

* * *

"Quinn?" Rachel asked as they sat at the Lima Bean drinking their iced teas, "You know how you're pregnant?"

"Oh shit!" Quinn mocked her, "I'm pregnant?! This gigantic lump growing out from my stomach is a baby?!..." she said sarcastically, "Yes I'm aware… What's your point?"

"Sorry," Rachel laughed, "that's not what I meant."

"What is going on Rachel?" Quinn replied sincerely, "You've been kind of out of it all day and while you quite often say a lot of shit that I don't understand, I can usually follow along with your train of thought… Today, I have no clue what you're thinking."

Rachel sighed, "I'm sorry, I've had a lot on my mind."

"Shit! You're not pregnant are you?" the blonde gasped leaning forward as best she could with her eight month bump hindering the action slightly.

"What?! No!" Rachel reassured her friend, "I just… I told Noah that I wanted to find out some stuff about my birth mother so we decided to go to my fathers house and have a look through some of their old boxes to see if we could find anything… I found a tape. Of her singing… and I learnt a lot… more than I think I really expected… And anyway, to make a really _really_ long story short, we've had contact through a lawyer and I'm going to meet with her."

"That's fantastic, Rachel!" Quinn grinned broadly, "It's what you've always wanted… What are you worried about?"

"I don't know… Can I ask a personal question that we've all been avoiding around you and Finn?" Rachel asked tentatively.

Quinn's smile lessened for a second and she sighed, "We're not keeping her," she rubbed her swollen belly affectionately. She had known what Rachel was going to ask.

"Why?" Rachel asked curiously, "Finn and his family have been supportive and you said that you're mom had contacted you again now… You'd make great parents."

"Maybe in a few years," Quinn nodded, "but not now… Sure, we could look after her and love her… We do love her… but we can't give her everything. We aren't in a position to give her dance classes and a pony- if that's what she wants… I love my little girl so much, that I'm willing to give her up to someone who can give her those things." Quinn looked at the thoughtful look on Rachel's face and suddenly understood what was going through the brunettes head, "You know, maybe I'm a little biased coz this is my life at the moment, but… it takes a strong person to go through with a pregnancy and then give the baby to another family just to make sure that she gets the best life."

"You're not talking about Drizzle anymore are you?" Rachel whispered, using Finn's nickname for the baby.

"Your Mom, Rachel," Quinn said softly, "She had to love you an awful lot to be able to give you the life she's given you with your dads."

Rachel gave her friend a soft smile, "I don't know how you do it, Quinn Fabray, but you always seem to know the right thing to say… thank you."

* * *

The chat with Quinn really calmed Rachel's nerves about meeting her biological mother. Sure, she was still anxious but Quinn and Noah had been right. The woman would not have agreed to meet with the teen if she had given her up simply because she didn't love her.

With that knowledge in mind, Rachel agreed to meet with the woman at her fathers place. Noah understood Rachel's need to do this with her fathers and drove her around to her parents place the next Saturday afternoon. When they pulled into the drive, he got out to walk her to the door, "She's gonna love you so much, babe… Don't be scared," he gently brushed her hair away from her face and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

"I can't help it," Rachel smiled slightly.

"You'll be fine," he promised her, "give me a call when you want me to pick you up… or message if you're going to stay the night here."

"I will," Rachel replied with a soft smile, "hey Noah? I really really love you."

"Love you too, babe."

With one last kiss, Rachel walked into her fathers house and sat down to chat with them before their guest arrived. All three of them were a little nervous but knew that the woman would be feeling much the same. When the doorbell rang, Paul got up to answer it. Rachel sat on the couch in the living room and listened as her father introduced himself to the woman.

"Please, call me Shelby," she insisted, "thank you very much for having me here."

"You are welcome," Paul smiled, "come through and I'll introduce you to my husband and to Rachel."

The teen heard as the pair made their way back to the living room and stood to greet them, "Isaac, Rachel, this is Shelby… Shelby I'd like you to meet my husband and, this of course," he pointed to Rachel, "is the reason we're all here today… Rachel."

Rachel smiled shyly.

"Wow!" Shelby looked her up and down with a beaming smile, "You look just like I did as a teenager."

"Really?" Rachel asked tentatively.

"Oh without a doubt," Shelby rummaged through her bag and produced a photo, "here."

Rachel took it and grinned when she saw that Shelby certainly wasn't lying. They were identical.

"Shelby," Isaac shook her hand, "thank you for giving us the wonderful gift of a child… We could never make it up to you."

The striking woman smiled, "You already have," she insisted, "All I ever wanted to give my little girl, was a better life than she could have had with me..." Shelby sat as the family indicated and turned to Rachel, "I was in my final year of high school when I fell pregnant. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and my family weren't very supportive… You deserved more than that."

Rachel could tell that the woman was pleading with her to understand, "It's okay," she insisted, "One of my best friends is eight months pregnant at the moment… She helped me to see that just because a child is adopted, doesn't necessarily mean that his or her biological parents didn't want them… I know how hard that decision must have been for you to make."

"That's a very mature response," Shelby let out a sigh of relief.

"I've seen how hard it is for Quinn," Rachel shrugged her shoulders, "I have two loving fathers who have doted on me since day one… However, meeting you is something I've wanted for a long time."

"I've wanted to meet you for a long time as well," Shelby smiled. The group sat in a comfortable silence for a few seconds, "I can't believe how much you are like me!"

After the awkward silences were broken, the group had a very comfortable afternoon tea. Rachel learnt that Shelby had also aimed high for Broadway and although she never made it to the big time, she did do a few productions before deciding to become a teacher instead. Rachel had been shocked to learn that Shelby was the coach of their rival team, Vocal Adrenaline's, Glee Club. A little later, Paul and Isaac left the room so that the pair could get to know each other a little better on their own.

"How are you feeling about all of this, Rachel?" the mother asked.

"It's… a little strange but…" she struggled to get out what she was thinking.

Shelby laughed, "Yeah, I know what you mean… Rachel, You and I are never going to have a normal mother-daughter relationship… It's too late for that… but, I'd really like to be part of your life somehow… You know, Crazy Aunt Shelby or something… It seems pointless to deny our relationship… besides, we will see each other at Show Choir competitions."

"Yes, and I certainly hope you don't go soft on us!" Rachel giggled, "but I'd really like that, Aunt Shelby."

Shelby just smiled, "Have you got a boyfriend, Rachel?"

"Ah," Rachel smiled, "about that… there is a little information that my fathers and I haven't told you about… We wanted to see how the meeting went first." Shelby raised an eyebrow completely confused so Rachel continued, "You see… I don't actually live here."

"I don't understand," Shelby said.

"I moved in with my… husband after we got married," Rachel said tentatively, looking down at her lap. People weren't always understanding of the situation she and Noah were in and often could be very vocal in their opinions opposing it. It was clear Shelby had not expected this turn of events.

"Like my Daddy said before, I was raised Jewish and… although we are far from being an orthodox Jewish household, there are some parts of our religion we have upheld. Noah and I met as toddlers and have been best friends ever since… his grandmother requested that we have an arranged marriage," surprise was written all over Shelby's face, "It was _not_ something that was forced upon us," Rachel reassured the woman, "but when Noah's grandmother got ill, we both decided that it was what we wanted… I love Noah, so much."

"Wow…" Shelby muttered, "Well, I must say I'm surprised… This is a huge piece of news… However, I look forward to meeting your husband one day then, Rachel… Congratulations."

"Thank you," Rachel beamed, "I was a little worried about how you'd react to that piece of news."

"I understand about tradition," Shelby said, "and what you've done is a very mature thing… Just, no children until you finish school!" She laughed.

"Ha, Don't worry… We don't plan on it!"

"I should probably go," Shelby smiled softly, "I've really enjoyed meeting you Rachel."

"It's been wonderful," Rachel agreed, "May I have a photo with you before you go?"

Paul and Isaac came back into the room to farewell Shelby and they took a few photos for the pair. The mother and daughter exchanged contact details with promises to catch up at some point in the not to distant future. When Shelby was gone, Rachel hugged her fathers close.

"Thank you for being so amazing," she whispered to them.

* * *

Noah sat on the couch back at his house, nervously waiting to here from Rachel. His mom, sister and Will were watching him shift uncomfortably for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

"Noah!" Rebekah laughed, "she'll be fine... you'll hear from her when she's finished."

"I know… I'm just worried for her," he admitted.

"That's because you're a loving husband," his mom smiled, "but she needs to do this… and like you said, It's something she has been thinking about for a long time."

Just as the boy was about to admit defeat, his cell phone signaled he had a message. He frowned slightly when he couldn't tell from her message, how the meeting went.

Rachel: _Come pick me up?_

"Gotta go get Rach," he told his family.

He made the short trip across town and was instantly relieved to see the smile on his wife's face when she answered her parents door.

"Oh Noah," she smiled, "she was fantastic!" The whole way home she filled him in about the meeting and what the pair had decided to do in the future. Noah was particularly relieved to hear about how well she had handled the arranged marriage news.

When they arrived home, Rachel once again recounted the evening to her mother-in-law and teacher. Will had been shocked to learn that the woman in question was Shelby Corcoran but commented that now he knew about their relationship, he could definitely see the resemblance.

By the time Rachel crawled into bed, she was absolutely exhausted.

"Are you happy, Babe?" Noah asked her.

"Very Noah… I love you," she murmured, kissing his chest gently as she curled into him.

"I love you too," he whispered back but Rachel had already started to drift off to sleep.

* * *

_**AN: So what did you think? Please review, they make me happy.**_


	29. Chapter 29

**AN: No excuses… I've just been busy. Hope this longer chapter is worth the wait! I'm seriously in a writers block jam right now. I have NO IDEA, where I want this story to go anymore. Any ideas? What do you want to see? I'm thinking of wrapping it up. Any of your ideas used will be credited with an advanced preview and credit!**

**Enjoy!**

**Elle xo**

* * *

"Okay everyone!" Mr Schue said as he finished off Glee rehearsals, "I have some good news before we finish… I have made all the final arrangements for our trip for Regionals on the weekend. I've booked us into a hotel as well because we will have to stay overnight on Friday and Saturday. Alright, class dismissed," the teens all started packing up their bags, "Rachel, Puck, can I talk to you for a moment please."

The couple sat back down and waited for their teacher.

"I need to talk to you about… sleeping arrangements for Regionals," he said cautiously.

"It's cool Mr Schue," Puck smirked, "we've already talked about it and we know that since it's a school trip we will have to stay in separate rooms… I'm sure we'll live for a couple of nights."

"Thanks guys," the teacher smiled appreciatively at the couple for not making it difficult for him.

* * *

"The next two nights are going to be hell, baby," Noah whined as they walked to the Choir room with their overnight bags ready for the competition on Friday afternoon, "how am I going to sleep without you."

"The same way I am," she chuckled, "not very well… but we'll be together most of the time anyway… I just want to get the performance out the way tomorrow morning… I think I'm coming down with something."

"You alright?" he put a hand to her forehead in concern, "you don't feel hot."

"Yeah… I just feel a little off… I'll be fine," she smiled.

The couple were joined by the rest of the Glee kids in the choir room and their teacher briefed them before they collected all of their equipment and headed for the bus. The trip itself was fun. The group were chatting excitedly the whole way and singing along with the radio. When they arrived, Mr Schuester and Ms Pillsbury divided the kids up into their rooms. Rachel smiled over at Noah when she heard the teacher say she would be rooming with Quinn and that Noah would be with Mike. Even though they couldn't be together, it was a good deal.

"Alright!" Mr Schue said, "You have about twenty minutes to get settled in your rooms and then I need you all back in the lobby so we can head out to the theatre for our scheduled practice time… Don't be late."

Noah grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her towards the elevator, "I miss you already," he pouted.

"Just think how good the _catch-up_ will be when we get back to Lima, to _our_ house," she smirked, "you'll have me all to yourself and no interruptions."

Noah groaned, "Don't tease me, beautiful."

They separated with a kiss to head to their own rooms. Rachel and Quinn, quickly explored their room before unpacking their bags, quickly getting changed and returning to the lobby to meet the rest of the team. Noah securely locked himself behind Rachel. He was being clingy but his wife knew why and didn't mind one bit.

Their rehearsal session went okay. Finn messed up dance steps and after spending the evening on a bus, everyone was tired. Their teachers sent them all to bed before anyone got hurt.

"Sleep tight, Squirt," Noah pulled her close for a goodnight kiss, "I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast in the morning." Much like her husband, Rachel tossed and turned for a good while, unable to get comfortable.

"What's wrong?" a tired Quinn spoke up.

"I'm just used to sleeping with Noah," Rachel whispered back, "It's kind of weird to not have him here. I'll fall asleep soon enough."

And she did. Eventually, exhaustion got hold of her and she drifted off into slumber. When Quinn woke up to their alarm, she quickly showered and returned to the room to see Rachel hadn't moved a muscle. She shook the girl gently, "Rach… the alarms gone off… twice, you've got to get ready."

Rachel groaned loudly, swore, rolled over onto her stomach and pulled the blankets over her head. She was back asleep within seconds. Quinn widened her eyes in amusement, this wasn't the Rachel she was used to seeing. She tried again with the same results and had to give up. She was finishing her hair in front of the mirror when a knock at the door interrupted her. She pulled it back to find their teacher.

"Morning Mr Schuester," she smiled.

"Good morning, Quinn," he replied, "I'm just coming around to make sure you're all up."

"Well, I've tried to get Rachel up… but nothing works," Quinn chuckled, "geez that girl can sleep!"

The teacher chuckled, not at all surprised that the blond was having trouble getting their star up, "Yes she can… I've seen first hand. I live with them remember," he laughed, "You'll need to get Puck to help."

"You need my help with what?" a voice said from behind. Noah stepped into view with Finn, Santana, Brittany, Mike and Matt at his side.

"Getting your wife out of bed," Quinn said, "she just swears at me anytime I try."

"Ha, I'm impressed you even got that out of her," the teen laughed, "she likes to sleep." He stepped into the hotel room with the other seven people watching with interest. He sat down on the bed and pulled back the covers enough to see Rachel's face, "Morning, baby," he whispered in her ear.

"No, Noah," she whined, trying to pull the blanket up again, "too sleepy."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. It was time for a bit of tough love. He ripped the blankets off her bed quickly, "time to get up Lazy… we've got a competition to win."

"I hate you," Rachel pouted, sitting up and stretching.

"I love you too," he smirked back, "now hurry up."

The others all watched in amusement as Rachel slowly made her way into the bathroom to shower. "That was a lot easier than normal," he told the group, "I usually give up and just leave her to work out that she's going to be late and get herself up."

Most of the teens and their teacher left, shaking their heads and laughing. Quinn smiled at Noah as he flopped himself down on Rachel's bed, "she couldn't get to sleep without you," she said, "she tossed and turned for a couple of hours before she finally was so exhausted that it took over."

"She's not the only one," Noah admitted, "I've got used to having her with me."

He lent back against the headboard of her bed with his eyes closed until he heard the bathroom door open and a more awake Rachel walk into the room.

"Morning Stretch," she smiled and kissed her husband slowly.

"Mornin' Squirt," he murmured against her lips, "ready now?"

"Yes," she replied, "I missed you last night."

"I missed you too," he grinned, "but I'm hungry now… can we go get some food?"

They walked hand in hand down to the dining room with Quinn following close behind.

"Nice to see you're _awake_ Rachel," Finn teased.

"Hey!" Noah laughed, "stop picking on my wife… she's going to help us win today."

The team chorused their cheers excitedly and all sat down for their breakfast. Before long, they were all being loaded onto the bus to head for the theater. The morning went by in a blur. They dressed, did their make-up and warmed up. Mr Schue and Ms Pillsbury led them out to their seats in the theatre to watch the other teams.

"They're good," Rachel whispered to Noah.

"You're better," he whispered back earning a bright smile from Rachel. Soon enough, it was their turn on the stage. Even with no dramas about stolen set lists this time round, it was still nerve racking.

"I love you," Noah said to Rachel as they waited for their cue.

"I love you too," she smiled back just as the music started up.

The team stepped into their performance mode and put everything they had practiced into their music. Rachel grinned over at Noah when they finished singing and the crowd stood to applaud them.

"We did it, baby," Noah pulled her close.

"Yeah, we did," she replied with nowhere near as much enthusiasm as he expected.

"Are you still not feeling well?" he forced her to look at him. She shook her head and rested it on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close. He hoped Mr Schue didn't have anything big planned for the rest of the afternoon, because he wasn't so sure Rachel would make it. When the climbed onto the bus to head back to the hotel, Rachel lent on him heavily. Luckily, their teacher had decided to let them have free time around the hotel which meant they could just relax for the day. Rachel wanted to go with the girls down to the pool but Noah barely left her side.

After dinner, the group retired to their rooms for the night. The competition results weren't being announced until lunch the next day and they were all exhausted. Quinn was still chatting away as she climbed into bed and flicked on the television.

"Are you okay?" she asked Rachel, who was shivering under the covers.

"Not feeling too well," Rachel murmured.

"Oh!" Quinn replied, "Should I get Puck?"

"N-N no," Rachel stuttered, "I just need to sleep it off."

"Okay," the blonde replied hesitantly. She continued to watch TV for a while longer, every now and then glancing over at her room mate. One time she glanced over and noticed a sheen of sweat over the girl's forehead. She climbed out of bed and put a hand to Rachel's head, "Shit Rach! You're hot! I'm getting Puck."

She opened the door with the intention of going to get the girls husband however she ran into her teacher as she opened the door.

"Going somewhere, Quinn?" he asked.

"Just to get Puck," she replied, holding the door open for the man, "Rachel's sick."

The teacher stepped into the room and walked straight to the girls bedside. After feeling her temperature, he nodded and sent Quinn to get the girls husband.

Noah came rushing into the room as soon as he heard with Santana following him after she had heard the chaos going on outside her room, "fuck she's hot!" he gasped, "can you get a couple of wet cloths?" he asked the Latina as he pulled back his wife's covers and started unbuttoning her sweaty pajama top.

"Uh Puck?!" the teacher gasped, "we're still here and I don't think Rachel would want you undressing her in front of us."

"She has a singlet top on underneath," he murmured and negotiated the article of clothing, pulling her arms out and throwing it aside. Santana handed him the cool wet cloths. He climbed onto her bed, sitting against the headboard with his legs outstretched. Rachel curled into his side automatically, resting her head against his thighs.

"I don't feel so good, Noah," she murmured.

"I bet you don't," he replied, placing one of the cloths on her back and the other on her forehead. She hissed as the cool fabric came into contact with her warm skin.

"No Noah… I'm cold," she whined.

"Sorry baby, but we have to get your fever down," he apologized, gently running his fingers through her hair and pulling it off her sweaty face.

"Do we need to take her to a doctor?" Ms Pillsbury asked after she arrived to help.

"Not yet," the teen replied, "let's see if we can get her fever to break first… I'm just gonna stay here," he told their teachers who nodded.

"I'll stay too," Santana and Quinn chorused.

"Okay," Mr Schue agreed, "We'll come to check up on her again in a couple of hours. In the meantime, I'm going to call her fathers and let them know what's going on."

The adults left and Quinn and Santana climbed onto Quinn's bed to get a couple of hours sleep. Noah continued soothingly rubbing Rachel's head. Two hours went very quickly to Noah as he continued to worry about his wife. Santana stirred awake when there was a soft knock at the door and got up to let their teacher in.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Still hot," Noah replied.

"Put her in the bath," Santana suggested, "that's what my Papi always did when I was sick."

Noah and the teacher shared a glance, nodding their agreement. Quinn ran the bath with cool water and Noah gently picked Rachel up and lowered her into the tub clothes and all. She stirred slightly with the movement, "Noah?!" she said quietly.

"Shh, Baby… it's okay, I've got you," he replied as she started to slip in the tub, "Woah… careful their Squirt." He climbed in behind her to prop her up. He carefully cupped water and poured it over her forehead. When she started to feel slightly cooler, Santana helped him get her out of the bath and into new clothes. Noah towel dried himself off before carrying Rachel back to her bed.

"I think we should think about taking her to the hospital or at least a doctor," Ms Pillsbury said.

"Yeah," Puck reluctantly agreed, "let me just get changed into some dry clothes." He kissed Rachel's forehead and rushed out of the room.

"What the hell is going on?" Finn said from the doorway, "Puck is storming around and it's nearly 1am!"

"Rachel's sick," Quinn supplied for the group, "they're going to take her to the hospital because they can't get her fever down."

"Oh! I have some Ibuprofen in my bag… it might help," Finn suggested. The group shrugged their shoulders and Finn ran off to get the pills. He returned in seconds. He handed the pills to Santana who got a glass of water and stood in front of the girl.

"No!" Rachel said deliriously, as Santana tried to get her mouth open.

"Come on Rach, they will make you feel better," she said quietly. She got the two pills in Rachel's mouth and held the glass up so she could drink. Rachel spluttered, spilling water everywhere.

"No!" she said again but Santana was persistent and eventually the pills went down, "No no no!" Rachel kept saying.

"What happened?" Noah said when he returned to find his wife agitated.

"Finn had some Ibuprofen so we gave her a couple to get her fever down," Quinn supplied.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Noah yelled making everyone jump, "fuck!"

"I tried to tell them," Rachel slurred.

"I know you did, baby," he replied and then turned back to the others, "how much did you give her and how much did she get down?"

"Two pills…" Finn said slowly, not knowing what was going on.

"Fuck fuck fuck," Noah repeated, suddenly searching through Rachel's suitcase, "where the hell is it, Rachel?! You better have brought it with you!"

"She's breathing funny," Santana blurted out in a panic.

"She's fucking allergic to Ibuprofen!" Noah yelled back, "and you lot just forced her to take two doses of the shit… She's going into anaphylactic shock… Where the hell is your epi-pen, Rachel?!"

"Bag," she gasped, her lips turning blue. The others all looked panicked as they watched the scene in front of them. Noah finally found the device, pulled off the cap and jabbed it into her thigh in one movement. Everyone winced at the force he used but were relieved to see Rachel's breathing return to normal very quickly. Noah let out the breath he had been holding when Rachel took a deep gasping breath, her airways now clear. He could feel his heart beating rapidly against his chest. As he had learnt many years ago, he held the needle in her leg for ten seconds and then took it away.

"We have to take her to the hospital now," he said quietly as he rubbed the spot he had injected the epinephrine.

"Sorry man," Finn apologized, he was feeling rather guilty, "we had no idea."

"I know… sorry I yelled," Noah sighed. As much as he knew it was stupid of them to give anything to Rachel without him there, they weren't to know she was allergic, "but we really need to get her to the hospital before the adrenaline wears off and she goes into shock again."

Ms Pillsbury stayed at the hotel with the kids while Rachel, Noah and Mr Schue went to the hospital. When they arrived the nurses immediately took Rachel off to be seen. Noah slumped down in a chair across the room while their teacher spoke to the staff.

"Are you her father?" one nurse asked the man, "We need you to fill in some paperwork."

"No, I'm her teacher. I live with them but I wouldn't know the answers to the questions," Will replied, "but her husband will know."

"Husband?! I thought you said she was sixteen," the older nurse said, completely confused.

"She is… but she's also married. They had an arranged marriage… Puck!" Will called the extremely worried boy over, "You need to fill in some paperwork about Rachel. I don't know the answers to all of these questions."

"Alright," the nurse smiled at the boy, almost as if she wanted proof that the teacher wasn't kidding, "What's her full name, maiden name and date of birth?"

"Rachel Marie Puckerman. Her maiden name is Berry and she was born on December 18 1994," he said quickly, trying to give the women all the information they needed to help Rachel. He explained how he had treated her before they had come to the hospital.

The nurse looked surprised as Noah easily answered all the questions about his wife. When the woman asked about allergies, he started to list them off, "and um… Ibuprofen, Penicillin, peanuts, shellfish… and a heap of other minor ones."

"Okay," the nurse smiled, "The doctor should be out to see you soon… we'll take good care of your wife, sir."

The boy sat down and on the seat next to the teacher and waited impatiently. He started flipping through the magazines lying around the room, not really reading them, just trying to distract himself from thinking about his wide lying somewhere in the rooms behind him.

"Uh… Noah?!" a young doctor came out. Puck stood quickly and looked at the man.

"Your girlfriend is fine," he smiled, "she's asking for you, just down the hall, room 201."

"Wife," Noah corrected, "she's my wife." He rushed down the hall and into Rachel's room with the teacher following closely behind. Rachel had a drip in her arm and a few cold cloths cooling her down, but she already looked better, "hey baby," he kissed her forehead, "don't scare me like that again."

"Sorry, Noah," she gave a small smile and yawned, "love you."

"I love you too… get some sleep," he whispered. Noah waited until he was sure Rachel was asleep before he left the room, "I have to call Paul and Isaac," he told their teacher as he whipped out his phone.

Having heard from Ms Pillsbury that their daughter was sick and that they were taking her to see a doctor, the Berry's were awake and waiting for a phone call, "How is she, Noah?" Paul asked.

"She was really hot, but the doctors think it's just a virus… her fever has broken now and she looks better," the teen explained, "Finn gave her some Advil. He didn't know she was allergic and she started to go into anaphylactic shock. I used her epi-pen but the doctors are giving her epinephrine in her IV to be sure as well, until it's out of her system."

They men thanked Noah for calling them and made him promise to call them back if anything changed. The doctors insisted that Rachel be kept in overnight until they could be sure that the medication in her system wasn't going to harm her anymore, which meant Noah and Mr Schuester spent the night in the uncomfortable chairs by her bedside.

When morning finally came, Noah woke to see his wife's smile.

"Morning Beautiful," he grinned, "how are you feeling?"

"Good morning Noah," Rachel smiled back, "I feel good… except I have a feeling I'm going to have a big bruise on my thigh if I pull back these covers… you really jabbed that epi-pen in, didn't you?!"

"Yeah, well it was better than missing or not doing it hard enough," he chuckled and kissed her gently to apologize, "… sorry."

"Don't apologize," Rachel told him, "it's what you should have done."

The group were interrupted by the return of Rachel's doctor, "Well Mrs. Puckerman," he smiled, "you've been off epinephrine for a few hours without any issues so I don't have a problem discharging you. I'll write you up a script for some anti-virals and I'm assuming you will need a replacement for your epi-pen."

"Yes thank you," Rachel nodded.

"I'll send a nurse in to help you change while your teacher and husband fill in your discharge papers…" the man told her, "but in the mean time…" he held up a medical alert bracelet, "You need to wear this all the time. If your husband wasn't here to tell us and your teacher about your allergies this would have been a lot worse," the man finished, leaving the room with Mr Schue following. Rachel sighed and fitted the bracelet. She had several at home but rarely wore them.

"I grabbed you some clothes before we left," Noah said to his wife as he handed her his backpack, "I'll be right back."

With all the paperwork finished, Noah and Mr Schuester returned to the girls room to see her sitting on the bed waiting for them. Rachel jumped down the second she spotted them and Noah winced at seeing that she indeed had a nasty looking bruise on her thigh where her short, shorts finished, "don't Noah," Rachel squeezed his hand, "it's fine… and it's not the first time you have had to do it."

"That doesn't mean I like it," he murmured back as they went to the hospital pharmacy to fill the prescriptions. The couple followed their teacher outside and he waved down a taxi. It was a silent drive as Rachel curled into her husbands side with her eyes closed. When they walked into the lobby of the hotel, the Glee kids rushed at them.

"Rachel!" they all shouted.

"Are you okay?" Tina gasped.

"The others told us what happened," Artie added.

"What did the doctor's say?" Ms Pillsbury asked.

"Just a virus," Rachel smiled at their concern as they all sat down, "they put me on fluids to get my temperature down and epinephrine to keep me breathing while the Ibuprofen made its way through my system."

"We're sorry about that," Finn replied, looking extremely guilty.

"It's okay," Rachel tried to reassure the crowd, "The doctors already lectured me about not wearing my medical alert bracelet, but next time someone tells you not to give them a medication… I suggest you listen," she chuckled to relieve the tension.

"We're lucky Puck came back when he did," Santana added, "that was fucking scary… and then he jabbed that thing into you." Rachel turned so they could see the dark bruise on her leg.

"I'll be fine," Rachel said, "It's not the first time Noah has had to deal with one of my allergies. He knows what to do… and I have a lot of allergies."

**AN: Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review or PM me with your ideas and thoughts!**


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: **_**I'd just like to remind everyone as I have said in several earlier chapters, Finn is the baby's father NOT Puck. This chapter didn't come naturally like others have. It has taken a while to get it to the point where I was happy enough to post it. Hope you enjoy regardless!**_

**DISCLAIMER:**_** I don't own Glee.**_

* * *

New Directions won the competition and after returning home a few weeks ago, they were still in the post win bliss. They felt like they were on cloud nine. Rachel and Noah were finally able to move back into their place when their teacher managed to find a place. He was very grateful for the help they had given him and would always hold a special place for them in his hearts. But the biggest excitement came from the fact Quinn was about to give birth any day now. She and Finn were clearly nervous. They had selected a couple living only a few hours away to adopt the little girl and they were willing for the two teens to have some contact.

In her heavily pregnant state, Quinn was not currently going to school, so every afternoon, Rachel called around to spend some time keeping her company and dropping off her homework. Today as they sat on the couch, Rachel watched as the blonde shifted uncomfortably once again.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked with a sympathetic smile.

"Just so uncomfortable!" Quinn whined, "I just want her out of me! I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions all the time lately."

"Don't rush it," Rachel replied, "she'll come when she's ready."

Quinn sighed, "I know," she gently rubbed her swollen belly, "Do you and Puck want kids."

Rachel nodded, "We're planning on having a family, yes," she explained, "but we're going to wait until we're settled in New York first. Our marriage was rushed… whilst we would have still got married if Noah's grandmother was not ill, it would not have happened until after high school… We don't want to rush having a family just because we got married young."

"Fair enough," Quinn smiled, "You two are going to make great parents one day."

"So are you Quinn," Rachel replied seeing the hesitance on her friends face, "Remember what you told me about giving up your little girl? That you love her so much that you are willing to give her to a couple that can give her anything she wants… only a true mother could do that."

"Thank you Rachel," Quinn smiled genuinely, "I needed to hear that."

* * *

It was at 2 o'clock the next morning when Rachel and Noah were woken by a ringing cell phone on their bedside cabinet. Noah untangled his hand from Rachel's hair to grab it. Checking the caller ID, he sat up quickly when he saw it read Finn.

"Dude," he yawned, "is everything okay?"

"Puck? I thought I rang Rachel's phone," Finn answered.

"You did, she's my wife idiot…" Puck joked, it was clear something was up, "she's still asleep. What's up?"

"Quinn's in labor, man!" Finn replied nervously, "She wants Rachel. Can you come?"

"We'll meet you at the hospital," Puck said quickly, shaking Rachel back awake, "babe, Quinn's having the baby… we've got to get to the hospital… she wants you with her."

Without any further convincing, Rachel was up and dressed in minutes. The two snuck back through the main house, grabbing a banana and water bottle each as they crept. Noah quickly wrote a note for his mother, explaining where they were going and in seconds they were on the road.

A nurse was with Quinn when they got to the room. Rachel went in to provide some support by Puck and Finn waited outside to give her some privacy.

"How are you doing?" Rachel smiled excitedly.

"I don't know," Quinn laughed, "I'm excited but nervous… The doctor says it wont be long… everything is moving along pretty quickly… You'll stay with me, won't you?"

"Of course," Rachel grinned, "if that's what you want."

"Finn and I have talked about it," she replied, "I want you here."

* * *

It wasn't until seven fifty two that morning that the little girl made her grand entrance into the world with Rachel holding one of Quinn's hands and Sarah, the woman who would be adopting the baby, holding the other. Puck, Finn and Brayden, Sarah's husband, were standing back watching the proceedings all looking a little teary.

With the baby comfortably resting in Quinn's arms, Rachel lent back against her husband and smiled, "when we do this… promise it will feel just as special?"

"Most definitely," he smiled back and watched as Quinn and Finn passed the baby to Sarah and Brayden's waiting arms. It was emotional to say the least but the two teens could see how in love the new parents were already.

"Thank you for giving us something so special," Sarah cried to Quinn and Finn, "We will never be able to pay you back."

"Just look after her," Quinn whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes again, "what are you going to call her?"

"Georgia," Brayden answered with a soft smile, "Georgia _Quinn_ Pedler… If that's okay with you?"

"You want her middle name to be Quinn?" the blonde chocked out, "are you sure?"

"We want her to always know the people who gave us such a wonderful gift," Sarah replied, "that is why we requested an open adoption. Little Georgia is going to know just how loved she is in this world."

"… and we have something we'd like to ask you," Brayden turned to the teens, "we'd like you to consider being her god parents… We plan to ask my sister and her husband as well, but would really like it if you'd at least think about sharing the role with them."

Quinn was openly bawling at this point and Finn's eyes weren't dry either when he answered, "we'd really like that."

A few hours later, Georgia was cleared to go home and not long after the emotional farewell, Quinn was released as well.

"Keep your chin up and keep smiling," Rachel whispered to her as she gave her a big hug, "You did an amazing thing today… Call me if you need anything."

Quinn nodded and the four went their separate ways.

"What a day," Rachel said as she crawled into the bed she shared with Noah, planning on having a quick nap to catch up on some of the sleep they miss the night before.

"Do you think they're going to be okay?" Noah asked her, sliding in next to her.

"Yes," Rachel said, "It's hard and they're doubting themselves a little right now, but deep down, they both know they've made the right decision… give it a couple of days at the least."

Just as Rachel said, a few days later, they got a call from Quinn and Finn wanting to catch up. When they knocked on the door to the Fabray house where Quinn was staying with her Mom again, the blonde answered the door with a smile.

"Hi," Quinn greeted, "I've missed you."

"We wanted to give you some time alone," Rachel replied.

"Thank you," Quinn smiled again, "We're doing okay. Sarah and Brayden have sent us photos every couple of days… she's beautiful and they are so happy… We know we've done the right thing."

"That's really good Quinn," Noah smiled and hugged the girl.

* * *

A few days later, Shelby surprised Rachel by turning up in the Auditorium while she was practicing. "Your voice is absolutely amazing, Rachel," Shelby interrupted the teen as she walked onto the stage.

"Shelby!" Rachel smiled and moved to hug her mother, "what are you doing here?"

"I know this is a cliché, but I really was in the neighborhood and thought I would pop in," the woman laughed, "what are you working on?"

"Just a project for Glee… We're doing GaGa," the teen grinned.

"Have you been stalking my rehersals," Shelby furrowed her eyebrows in Rachel's direction with a smirk on her face.

"Ha, no comment," Rachel laughed and the two fell into a comfortable silence, "Shelby? Since you're here, do you think… I mean, would you mind singing with me? It's kind of a fantasy of mine."

"I'd love to," she agreed.

Whilst the two were singing their own rendition of Lady GaGa's Poker Face, Noah watched on from the side of the stage. He couldn't believe how much Rachel was like her birth mother- The same hair, skin tone and man, their voices. Every time Noah heard Rachel sing he fell a little bit more in love with her. She let every emotion show. He smiled as the two finished up the song.

"You are really, really good, Rachel," Shelby said in aww, "and I'm sure your husband, who I'm guessing is the man standing just off stage behind you, is very proud."

Rachel turned to see if Noah was indeed standing behind her, spotting him, she waved him over, "why are you hiding back there?" she smiled, wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at him lovingly.

"I came to walk you to Glee… but you were busy," he smiled and nodded over to the stranger, "I was watching you sing… Just as amazing as ever."

"Noah, I want you to meet Shelby," Rachel took his hand and introduced him to her birth mother, "Shelby, this is my husband, Noah."

"It's nice to meet you," Noah said sincerely, holding his hand out to shake with his wife's mother, "Rachel has talked almost non-stop about you for the last few weeks."

"All good I hope," Shelby accepted his hand shake, "Rachel has told me a lot about you too."

Noah smiled and turned back to Rach, "should I tell Mr Schue you're not coming to Glee today."

"Oh I don't want to keep you," Shelby replied, "Go to Glee."

"Come," Rachel said, "I mean, it's probably not a good idea for you to stay for our actual rehearsal given you're the coach of our opposition, but I'd like you to meet my friends."

Shelby just nodded her head and let the two teens lead her through to the choir room.

"Shelby Corcoran," Will greeted her with a smile, "what are you doing here?"

"Will Schuester, it's good to see you too," Shelby laughed, "and I was just catching up with Rachel and Noah."

"I invited her," Rachel interrupted. Santana opened her mouth as if to protest, "and before you say anything Santana," Rachel shot her a knowing smirk, "she's only here to meet my friends… so, friends, I'd like you to meet my birth mother, Shelby… Shelby, meet the New Directions."

The group exchanged pleasantries and chatted for a while before Shelby said her goodbyes and arranged to meet with Rachel and Noah at breadsticks for dinner. Rehearsals went smoothly with everyone still on a high from their win at Regionals. Everyone had been particularly protective of Rachel since her allergy incident whilst they were away, checking with her before they gave her anything. Rachel found their actions amusing, although it was getting somewhat annoying.

Before too long, the young couple were strolling into Breadsticks hand in hand and sitting down in a vacant booth across from Rachel's slightly older counterpart.

"So Noah," Shelby smiled politely, "Rachel tells me the two of you are heading to New York when you graduate… What do you hope to do?"

"I'm thinking Physiotherapy but we're really heading that way for Rach," Noah explained, "ever since we were toddlers she's been going on about going to NYADA or Juliard and performing on Broadway… I can do physio anywhere but she can't."

"It's a lot to ask you to move away from your family."

"Not really," Noah said with a smile, "Rachel is the biggest part of my family. I've been following her around for years now. I was always going to go to New York with her whether we were married or not."

Shelby simply smiled. It was clear she approved of her daughters husband. The group had a pleasant dinner and soon after Noah was excusing himself to allow the two a chance to talk.

"He seems lovely," the woman grinned to her teenage daughter.

"He's the love of my life," Rachel agreed.

"Tell me about your wedding day," Shelby asked.

"It was just a small wedding," the teen explained, "just our close family and friends. The reception was at my dad's place, the Glee club organized all of the entertainment for us, including them putting on an amazing rendition of 'Lucky' for us. They bought us our trip to New York for our Honeymoon too as our wedding gift."

"I've always dreamt of going to your wedding," Shelby admitted.

"As much as I will always love that day as it was, I always wanted my mom there too," Rachel smiled. A silence passed over the two before Rachel spoke what was on her mind, "I get it now," she said.

Shelby looked at her curiously, not really sure what she was talking about so Rachel continued, "I get it… How you could give up a child… I mean, and don't take this the wrong way, but I could never understand how someone could carry a baby inside them for nine months, only to hold them for a few minutes before giving them to complete strangers… But just last week, I was in the delivery room with my best friend and was with her when she gave birth to a little baby girl. She loves that little girl so much that she wanted her to have everything she couldn't give her… So they gave her to this most amazing family… I just… I get it now."

"I would have loved to give you the world myself," Shelby smiled sadly, "but much like your friend, I couldn't do it… I knew that no matter what I did, it wouldn't be everything you deserved so I made the hardest decision I've ever had to make, and contacted the adoption agency."

Rachel smiled, "thank you… for being honest and for having the guts to do it."

**We're on the home stretch now with this story! Not much to go! This is probably your last chance to let me know of anything you want to see happen before I finish it off!**

**Please Review!**


	31. Chapter 31

_**AN: Sorry for the delay… Um… Some of you who I talk to on a regular basis will know I've not been well. I've been in and out of hospital over the last couple of months. I don't generally consider myself a sickly person, however, I was ill as a child and have had some lung complications steming from that… BUT! I'm in the clear, back at work and aside from having to use an inhaler more often than I did before… I have no restrictions.**_

_**I've been tossing up with various ways of how to end this story. I had intended for it to go on for a while longer but as I wrote, I felt like I was just writing without a purpose, there was no real story line to it… and so, I've made the hard decision to wrap it up now. After this, I will write an epilogue based in the future.**_

_**I hope you enjoy the last two chapters! And PLEASE, let me know what you think!**_

* * *

"Come with me," Rachel grabbed Santana's arm and pulled her down the hallway at school.

"What's going on Rachel?" She hissed as she started sneaking down the halls, ducking under a window when a staff member walked passed. She was even more surprised when Noah joined the group with something hiding behind him.

"Have you got it?"

"Yes," he nodded, "What is Santana doing here?"

"I brought her with me," Rachel answered.

"Rachel!" Noah's eyes widened, "If we get caught because you are dragging others into it, I swear, I'm gonna pin this all on you."

"I thought you loved me," Rachel shot him a smirk, "besides, we need her."

"Doesn't mean I won't feed you to the wolves," He smirked back.

"What the fuck is going on?" Santana asked, "What the hell have you dragged me into?"

"I need you to play look out," Rachel explained, "now follow us and don't get caught."

The confused Latina followed the couple throughout the halls stopping every now and then as they hid from staff members. Santana swore she heard Rachel gasp when Mr Schue walked passed. Noah turned around and put a finger to his lips telling her to shut up. The unusual group snuck into the AV room where Rachel ordered Santana to stand discretely at the door and let them know when anyone walked passed.

Noah sat straight down at the computer, logging in with a random freshmans log in details. He fiddled around with the computer while Rachel got the PA system set up.

"Okay," Noah replied, "It's ready… they'll need a password to turn it off."

Rachel nodded and placed their CD into the drive and set it to repeat before pressing play. She calmly collected her bag and exited the room, "lets get out of here before they start looking."

"What the hell is that?" Santana whispered as she heard the song begin to play over the radio, "is that Coach Sylvester?"

Rachel and Noah simply grinned at her in reply.

"Where the fuck did you find that?"

"Some clever searches on YouTube were involved," Noah replied with a smirk, "We really need to get as far away from here as we can… I've already turned on the other AV computers so it'll take them a while to work out which computer it is but I don't want to take any chances."

Before they could discuss it any further, the bell rang to signal the need to get to class. Rachel and Santana headed towards their classroom together. The school was a buzz with everyone discussing the song that was blaring over the PA system loudly and repetitively.

* * *

Rachel was laughing when the music was still playing when she met up with the Glee club at morning break. They were sitting in the cafeteria talking when Mr Schuester and Miss Pillsbury walked in and stood at the end of the table with raised eyebrows.

"Can we help you Mr Schue?" Rachel said in a completely innocent voice.

"Oh I'm sure you can," he laughed once, "Rachel, Puck… I think you need to come with us… Don't you think?"

Rachel and Puck somewhat innocently packed up their belongings and followed the two adults out of the room, ignoring the fact most of the cafeteria were watching them, curious as to what was going on. When they got to Miss Pillsbury's office, Will turned to them and again raised an eyebrow.

"Would I be correct in assuming you two are the masterminds behind this little prank?" he said indicating to the PA speaker which was still blaring Coach Sylvester's singing voice.

"Uh… no?" Noah tried, knowing that the teacher knew too much about the couple for them to get away with it anymore. The look on the teachers face said he didn't believe the pair, "… it was Rachel's idea!"

"Ugh! You really did feed me to the wolves!" Rachel shrieked, "I'll remember this! You were the one who actually did everything… all I did was sneak into the AV room and press play!"

"I don't know what your motivation for this was," the teacher started, "but if you don't turn it off… now, I'm going to go crazy and you two will be my first targets."

Rachel and Noah couldn't contain their smirks as much as they tried for their teachers sake. Rachel pulled out a post it note and pen and passed it off to her husband, "write down the password, Stretch," she said.

Noah took the pen and wrote down the details. He passed them off to the two waiting adults, "are we in trouble?" The teachers chuckled and shot them a 'what do you think' look, "Yeah, I figured," Noah replied.

"We just wanted to teach her a lesson," Rachel explained, "give her a taste of her own medicine… She's always giving you such a hard time."

"You probably didn't choose the best way to do it," Miss Pillsbury replied, "however tempting it may be."

"We're not going to tell Coach Sylvester or Principal Figgins," Mr Schuester added, "however, you will need to have some form of consequence… First things first… was it just you two involved?"

The couple shared a look, "yes," they replied quickly, unwilling to get Santana into trouble as well, considering she was dragged into the plan.

The teachers narrowed their eyebrows knowing the teens were hiding something or more likely someone else however let them off, "okay… I'll see you in my office for detention this afternoon and tomorrow."

The two teens nodded and stood to leave.

"Rachel, Noah!" Mr Schuester called them as they got to the door, "Whilst I don't approve of your methods, the sentiment was touching."

Rachel and Noah made their way back through the halls and into the cafeteria where they re-joined their friends with a smile. Silence took over the room as the music which had now been playing for hours, now stopped.

"Uh, so…" Rachel started and turned to Santana, "I'm gonna have to pass on our shopping trip this afternoon… I'm in detention."

"It was you!" Finn gasped, "I knew it!"

"Shh!" Noah hissed, "Mr Schuester isn't going to tell Principal Figgins or Sylvester as long as we show up to detention this afternoon."

"You guys are insane!" Artie laughed.

"Hold up!" Santana interrupted, "How come I'm not in detention?"

"We figured since we dragged you into it, you didn't deserve the punishment. We told Mr Schue and Ms Pillsbury that we acted alone," Rachel explained, "I think he knows that you were involved but he's letting it slide."

* * *

That afternoon, Puck and Rachel made their way to their teachers office for their informal detention. Whilst boring, it was certainly not the worst punishment they could have received. Will had them sit and complete their homework which is all they would have been doing at home anyway. Once the time was up, the teacher looked up at the pair and smiled, "do you two think you can avoid getting up to anymore mischief if I let you go home?"

Both teens smirked, "we'll try our very hardest," Puck told him, not wiping the look off his face.

Will just laughed and indicated towards the door, letting the young couple know they were free to leave, "and Rachel… It _is_ refreshing seeing you like this at school."

Rachel grinned and took her husband's hand as they walked through the school together, leaving Will shaking his head in amusement. The couple's 'fun' was always lighthearted. They never really set out to hurt anyone. They just wanted to have a laugh, and, on occasions such as this, get a little revenge. He didn't know how they came up with half of their ideas but if something happened in the school, he was pretty sure one or both of the Puckerman's were responsible.

Lima wasn't a big town. And Puck and Rachel were part of an even smaller minority within the population- being both Jewish and having an arranged marriage. A year ago, he wouldn't have thought these two had any similarities but they shocked them with a secret life and an incredible bond… The two thrived when they were together and there was no doubt they were going to succeed wherever life took them.

_**AN: There is still and epilogue to come but… what did you think? Does it work to leave it here? If you didn't notice, the last paragraph starts the same way the first paragraph of the story does…**_


End file.
